For the first two days, I was a bit confused of what to do. Only after I successfully performed my first Umrah, I could adapt to the environment. :) Alhamdulillah.
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| Kaabah. |
My parents and I together with the rest of our groupmates spent 6 days in total in Makkah (including the day we arrived). Have I told you that the hotel is just approximately 50 meters to King Abdulaziz Gate? Even from the hotel, some of us who stayed at the upper floors (like 7 and above) can see the Kaabah directly from their bedrooms' glass wall. :D
So, this was one thing to put in my mind at that time, that I should not miss any opportunities to pray inside Masjidil Haram especially the five daily prayers (Masjid al-Haram can be used to refer to the same mosque) since it was extremely near.
“Solat di masjidku ini (masjid Nabawi) lebih baik daripada 1,000 solat di tempat yang lain melainkan masjid al-Haram. Dan solat di Masjid al-Haram lebih baik daripada 100 ,000 solat di tempat lain”. [Riwayat Ahmad (15271)]
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| View from the dining area. |
So, our plans for Makkah were roughly like these:-
Day 1 (18th Dec 2017)
- Check in to Safwa Hotel
- Perform Umrah
Day 2 (19th Dec 2017)
- Free activities
Day 3 (20th Dec 2017)
- Ziarah to Jabal Nur, Jabal Tsur, Jabal Rahmah, places for Hajj.
- Niat for Umrah at Masjid Jaranah
Day 4 (21st Dec 2017)
- Ziarah to camel areas etc.
- Niat for Umrah at Masjid Hudaibiyah
Day 5 (22nd Dec 2017)
- Free activities
- Jumaah prayer at Masjidil Haram
Day 6 (23rd Dec 2017)
- Tawaf Wada'
- Check out
- Travel to Madinah
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| One of the praying areas for women. You can see Kaabah in between the pillars :D |
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| Shelves for Quran. They are almost everywhere in Masjidil Haram. |
Emak and I always try our best to get good spots to pray. What I meant with good spots is areas that we can see the Kaabah.
Can you imagine the feeling of seeing Kaabah in real life, in front of these two eyes (plus another two for the glasses)? It feels surreal! Unbelievable! People always said that once we enter Masjidil Haram, try to find Kaabah. At first, I was a bit nervous if I could not see the Kaabah. But alhamdulillah, nothing like that happen to us and most of the things turned out very well. :)
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| After Subuh prayer. |
Compared to Masjid Nabawi, it is easier for us to be together in Masjidil Haram. As the doors / gates are open for both genders, but still, praying areas for men and women are separated (except of some reasons here and there - I understand it is not easy to control such a huge number of people).
Usually, my parents and I went to Masjidil Haram together via King Abdulaziz Gate and we promised / planned to meet at specific areas - in our case, the escalator. It was tricky a bit as the guards won't allow people to wait there as it would cause congestion.
So, if you will be going there, choose less crowd area to meet.
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| Meals with the view of Masjidil Haram. |
On days that we had ziarah, we would go back to the hotel after Fajr prayers and had breakfast. For those who plan to do another Umrah, the bus would stop at Miqat. For men, be ready with ihram (either you wear ihram directly from the hotel or you can change at the miqat later).
Few things I found to be crucial while in Makkah (in Madinah as well) are:
- nametag with lanyard
- sling bag provided by your agent (trust me, it would be easier to spot Malaysians this way)
- small bag for shoes (sarung kasut)
- spray for wudu'
- tissues
- sejadah
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| Makkah Royal Clock Tower - seen from Masjidil Haram |
So basically, days in Makkah will be spent mostly in Masjidil Haram (especially for five daily prayers). Free times are usually after Fajr and Isya' prayers as the time towards the next prayers will be longer.
Meals.
Meals are usually provided by the hotel (depends on your package) and will start after prayers. Like breakfast will start after Fajr prayer, lunch after Zuhur prayer and dinner after Isya' prayers.
Shopping.
If you want to go shopping, you can do it between Fajr and Zuhur prayer. People said the prices are cheaper in Madinah compared to Makkah. I agree in disagree. It also depends on your bargaining skills :) For jubah, we got the simple one for 20 riyal each, and the full manik-manik for 80-90riyal. Again, depends on the patterns that you want.
Another point, it is better to go shopping in Madinah as your time in Makkah can be fully used for ibadah. The rewards are even larger, right?
Another point, it is better to go shopping in Madinah as your time in Makkah can be fully used for ibadah. The rewards are even larger, right?
Local phone number.
It depends on you actually. If you and family members stay in the same room, it is not needed then. But for us, Mak and I stayed in a female room while Ayah in a male room on another floor. It was hard at the beginning to reach each other only then we decided to buy each of us local numbers. Since the passports were with the mutawiffah, we successfully bought our numbers at the perfume shops. Hoho, ada Bangladeshi ni set kan.
Can't remember the exact price. But Ayah and Mak got themselves sim cards for calls for 50 riyal each (with 10 riyal credit inside) while I got myself a sim card for 85 riyal ( 2GB data plus 10 riyal credit). Maybe you can get better prices somewhere else or mungkin kitorang kena tipu je harga ni but I am not that enthusiastic to find other offers. T_T And actually the Bangladeshi cheated by setting up only 1GB on my sim card instead of 2GB. Hahahadoiiii.
Till next posts,
InsyAllah I am going to share my experiences of tawaf and sa'ie :)
SS, Perak, Malaysia
180110
