Mouta Hotels Mecca

One day trip we did get to make was to Makkah, to perform Umrah or the Lesser Pilgrimmage. We left at dawn to beat the crowds and the heat, and made the 45 minute drive to Makkah. It's a huge, 8-lane highway with one checkpoint (after you cross the sign for non-Muslims to exit). I can remember my earliest trips to Makkah I used to keep a death grip on my husband, afraid of becoming lost or separated. Now I prefer to be on my own, and at each stage of the ritual I ...

... before hitting the road back to Riyadh to arrive back very late Friday night.

Absolutely amazing, and well worth the money spent! And guess what guys? I'm heading to Beirut with a group of friends in a few weeks' time!!! (I'm not going to have saved a cent by the end of this the way I'm going!!! :p)

Tune in next time for more Middle-eastern adventures!

Kat

Ps check out my facebook page for pics and videos of the trip! (Can't get the uploader on here to work now!)

The bulk of our trip we spent with my in-laws in Jeddah -- 3+ weeks. We started by trying to get as much shopping done as possible, saving short day trips for later. Jeddah as a city has become so crowded over the years, traffic is terrible. However finally the government appears to be doing something about it by building a series of flyovers and bridges to try and lessen the strain on the busiest streets. This won't help that actual terrible ...

... Thankfully my kids were all sleeping so I didn't have to refuse to let them go on the playground, the equipment in which is usually half broken down or scalding hot. Metal playground equipment may not be the ideal choice for a country with this climate.

After sunset we headed out again, and into the sandstorms. It was dark, but we could feel the car being buffeted and hear the gritty blasts of wind as it blew sand all around the car.

... airport tax domestik daerah Jakarta pp.-Pembuatan Paspor-Surat Mahram bagi wanita yang tanpa muhrim (Rp 150.000/0rang).-Fiskal, airport tax dan perlengkapan Rp 1.450.000.-Cargo-Kursi Roda-Tour Leader. Hotel : Paket 7 Hari:-Mekkah:Hotel Hilton,-Medinah:Hotel Hilton,-Jedddah:Hotel Intercontinental. Paket 9 Hari:-Mekkah:Hotel Hilton.-Medinah:Hotel Hilton,-Jeddah:Hotel Intercontinental. Profile Hotel ...

... was about 4 hours in duration, and our driver did not speak any "anglezee". He drove us thru the unlit desert at 150 km per hour, so I knew at the most fundamental level, that I had finally put myself in the gracious hands of Allah, once and for all. We arrived at the Grand Mosque in Mecca just in time for morning prayers; exhausted from the flight, the drive and the adrenilin. We entered thru the King Abdul Aziz gate, made our way thru the throngs, and before we knew it ...

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!

... are a newly wed at that time (we were married on April 2006, and this voyage start on June 2006), because if either me or my husband getting romantic it could undo our niyat, and we have to go back to Bir Ali to do the preparation all over again. The journey was as exciting as it was exhausting.

... Alhamdulillah, dengan pengalaman menunaikan umrah sebelum ini, anak-anak yang kecik pun excited sangat bila sampai di Madinah dan tak sabar-sabar untuk menziarah maqam Rasulullah, kaum keluarga baginda, para sahabat serta beribadat di Masjid Nabawi. Kami juga berharap dapat kembali ke tempat-tempat bersejarah yang membawa makna didalam perkembangan Islam. Kami merebut peluang mengikut kemampuan dan keupayaan kami untuk beribadat dan sentiasa cuba untuk berada ...

... barang yang serba modern n berteknologi. Budaya barat, khususnya dalam permasalahan toilet, masih belum menjadi budaya dan sebagian besar masyarakat Indonesia belum terbiasa atau belum kenal dengan model seperti itu. Sesampai di tempat tujuan...WAUW!! beda banget ma negeri sendiri. Meski tempatnya terkenal dengan gurun pasir, tapi penataan dan penghijauan mereka benar2 di atur. Rapi, bersih, n terasa jembar.