Dar Al Nadwa Mecca

... you literally are rubbing shoulders with people from Iran, Indonesia, Palestine, Malaysia, etc. I love seeing the men in African caftans and Irani turbans, women in shalwar khameez and traditional Indonesian dress.

I finished seven circuits around the Ka'ba then sat to wait for my husband and father-in-law to finish. While waiting I struck up a conversation with a couple of women sitting next to me who were from Palestine; no time for anything more than ...

Well, I have just come back from a fabulous weekend away in the "summer capital of Saudi" - Taif!!!

I just so happenned to be in the recreation office at the right time, and was offerred a seat. 900 SR for the weekend away ($300 ISH AUD), all inclusive - meals, accommodation, transport, everything!

The hotel we stayed in was the Ramada Al Hada, gorgeous place actually. It was positioned right up in the mountain range, giving us fabulous views of the mountains surrounding us ...

... the colors were gorgeous, and although I had my camera and asked my husband if we couldn't try to surreptitiously take a quick snap he wasn't ready to take the risk. We bought some shrimp and headed for home. Unfortunately the shrimp smell remained in our car for the remainder of our trip, which is odd because that certainly wasn't the first time we've been to a fish market in that car and that hadn't happened before.

The rest of our ...

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 ...

Umroh Eksklusif-UMROH KELUARGA Anda dilayani secara khusus. Paket Umroh keluarga eksklusif, dengan kelebihan sbb: -Anda dapat menentukan sendiri jadwal keberangkatan.-Pelaksanaan perjalanan umroh dan bimbingan ibadah secara privite, karena hanya anda dan keluarga yang kami layani.-Program ibadah dan kegiatan selama di tanah suci dapat anda atur sendiri berkoordinasi dengan guide khusus anda, sehingga tidak ada ...

... were facing the enormous black cube; the Kaaba. When a Pilgrim first views the great black cube, it is said that the first prayer made will always be granted. When I caught my breath, I prayed for success and longevity for my children.

We were supposed to meet our guide, but since we were 4 hours late, and it was the middle of the night, I assume he left. As we wondered out loud about how to commence our rituals, a friendly voice speaking fluent English approached ...

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 ...

Kami mengambil keputusan untuk menunaikan fardhu haji setelah mengambil kira kemampuan anak-anak yang kecil untuk 'berjuang' bersama jutaan jemaah yang lain di Tanah Suci nanti. Hati lebih lapang kerana bulan haji pada tahun tersebut jatuh pada bulan-bulan yang 'sejuk' jadi sikit sebanyak dengan izin Allah ianya membantu urusan kami kelak. 3 bulan sebelum kami bertolak, saya bawa anak-anak (pada usia 9 dan hampir 6 ketika itu) berjalan sekurang-kurangnya 5 km sehari untuk ...

Pertama kalinya aq ke luar negeri... n pertama kalinya aq naek pesawat besar! seperti yang ditipi-tipi.. wah, pokoknya kayak orang ndeso banget.. Saat naik pesawat, WOW!!! besar banget ya! dua tingkat. Digiring ke tingkat atas, sesuai urutan, duduk paling belakang, dekat dengan tangga ke tingkat dasar. Pramugarinya cuantik-cantik n guanteng-ganteng.. :) bersih, rapi, n cas cis cus pake bahasa Inggris. Beda ...