Al Massa Hotels Mecca

... of small shops and homes that had been packed into the rock. As you can see from some of the photos, the city of Makkah is actually built into stony hills that surround the Haram and Ka'ba. In fact, there is a famous picture on the internet that shows the ka'ba when there was a flash flood and people were going around the ka'ba swimming -- so the masjid sits in the middle of almost a bowl of mountains.

But it is sad to see the demise of the smaller ...

... or weaving straw mats and rugs. FABULOUS night, and a fantastic opportunity to soak up traditional Arabic culture.

We got back to the hotel to crash, then were up early again the next morning to visit some dams built about 3000 years ago (although not doing the intended job due to not a drop of water being in sight! Apparently, Taif is usually rather green, but as we are back home, have been hit rather hard by drought in the last few years.) We did a bit of a city tour, stopped ...

... however, the complete disregard of lanes or lane guides, and the folks who frequently make a left hand turn from the far right lane across four lanes of traffic. But it is loud, and colorful, and if you're not in a hurry to get anywhere can be interesting to watch. We always cause a stir because of our Emirati license plates, with people honking as they pass and/or staring.

One morning we decided to take the kids to the corniche and ...

This is by far the most tedious part of the drive. Eight hours of virtually nothing but scrubby landscape with the occasional rocky outcrop. There are exits now and then but no cities to speak of. Fortunately the kids were sacked out sleeping, so I plugged my iPod into the car stereo and we listened to a variety of lectures and songs. This is when I am most concerned about my husband -- and only driver -- becoming fatigued and needing to pull ...

... Madinah, Madinah-Mekkah, Mekkah, Mekkah, Mekkah-Jedah, Jedah-Jakarta. Harga sudah termasuk : -Tiket pesawat ekonomi kelas Jkt-Jed-Jkt.-Akomodasi hotel-Perlengkapan Umroh-Makan 3x/hari-Air Zam-zam@10liter-Transportasi di Tanah Suci-Visa Umroh-Executive Lounge. Harga belum termasuk : -Pengeluaran pribadi seperti telepon,laundry,fax,tips,program tambahan.-Kelebihan bagasi maks 20kg-Akomodasi & tiket pesawat ...

... s garb without facing a penalty when I landed. As a recent convert to Islam, I was ignorant of protocol. I passed thru customs at just past midnight and went to look for out guides. They were there looking for us, but because we were not properly attired, we passed by as businessmen or something and went unnoiced. When we [my friend Isa Musa] found that a drive back to a 'Miquat' was necessary to don our garb, I really began to feel the stress of traveling so far from home ...

Amazing to be here! This is the first and original mosque to have ever been built. We believe it to have been ordered of Abraham to be built at this location by God. This is the culmination of a lot of anticipation in every Muslimīs life!

We arrived in Mecca at almost midnight, probably around 11 pm. The journey from Medina to Mecca is almost as long as the journey from Jeddah to Medina, cause Mecca is not that far from Jeddah. All through the journey to Mecca, my mum constantly remind me not to get too close to my husband, altough ...

... kali seminggu. Saya pantau pemakanan dan kesihatan mereka. Saya mula mengajar hukum hakam berkaitan dengan urusan umrah/haji dan mengingatkan mereka supaya sentiasa berdoa agar Allah memberi yang terbaik untuk kami, diterima ibadah kami dan kesihatan yang sempurna sepanjang kami disana. Kami mengikuti satu rombongan kecil dari hajj operator yang cukup berpengalaman. Urusan dr awal hinggal akhir diuruskan dengan sempurna. Penerbangan kami tiba di Jeddah dan terus dibawa ke ...

... depan ada orangnya, ya dengan terpaksa harus turun ke lt dasar. Kata pramugarinya di bawah lebih banyak... Saat menuju toilet, DIENG!!! HAH!!! kok, gini?! BANJIR dimana-mana?! ada apa?! Oh, ternyata...para tamu pesawat tidak terbiasa dengan model kamar mandinya. Mereka membutuhkan air untuk membersihkan semuanya, untuk mengguyar segalanya. Tetapi kamar mandi pesawat tidak menyediakan cedok. Ya...dengan ...