Makkah & Madinah: Amazing Holy Places

"I miss it."

This thought always comes to my mind.

I miss those Holy Places, I miss the moments, I miss everything.

These places never fail to amaze people, including me!

Well, I've been to Makkah and Madinah three times to perform Umrah.

I went there in 2005 for the first time if I'm not mistaken.

Then, in 2007 for the second. I was still a kid at that time, but I still remember all the memories.

And last March was my third visit with family. Yes, I was there from March 26 to April 3, 2016.

It was only a week after my graduation at university.

MADINAH

Madinah, the second holiest city in Islam after Makkah, became our first destination.

In Madinah, we'll find Masjid Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque). It is also the final resting place of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH and early Muslim leaders.
So, we flew from Jakarta to Madinah thru Muscat by Oman Airlines.
After arriving at the airport in Madinah, we went to the hotel by bus.

The airport

I remember the atmosphere, the beautiful night sky. It was actually almost Fajr prayer time!
In Madinah, we stayed in Al Haram Hotel. Alhamdulillah it's so close to Masjid Nabawi.

We had only couple hours to sleep before Fajr tho, but that's not a problem.

Before the Fajr time approached, we immediately left the hotel to Masjid Nabawi.

It's always better to go to the mosque before the Adhan, because it will be already full of people.

What I thought first was it's so different from when I was there for the last time.
It looked more beautiful. What a lovely mosque, what a lovely city!

Forecourt of Masjid Nabawi

Inside Masjid Nabawi

All we did were praying, reciting Qur'an, and supplicating.
In the mosque, the Qur'an were placed everywhere, in the corner, etc.
Plus, the Zamzam water was also everywhere. Every time we got thirsty, we could drink.
Although the sun was up, it was cold outside. The wind is strong too!
The stores around the mosque were already open after Fajr. That's cool :p

In Masjid Nabawi, there is a place named Raudhah. It is a special spot in the mosque that is most sought since our prayers and supplications will be granted. It's because Raudhah is a highly efficacious place to pray. Moreover, Raudhah is the garden of Paradise.

The Prophet said, "Between my house and my pulpit, there is a garden (Raudhah) from the gardens of Paradise" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
However, the women section of Raudhah is different from the men section.

For women, it is only open for short time, only short time after Isha, Dhuhr, and Fajr.
At that time, I chose to visit Raudhah at night.
I can't remember what time it was, but I think it's around 9-10 pm.
I and the other women were sitting down on the carpet outside the Raudhah to wait for our chance to get entry into the Raudhah. Remember, the characteristic of Raudhah is its green carpet. There are so many people thinking the red carpet is also the Raudhah, but it's not.
In Raudhah, I finished at midnight. Well, it really needed struggle, guys.
Then, on the other day, we had a city tour. The bus stopped by at many places, but we only visited Masjid Quba and then bought Dates and Chocolates at the Date Palm Garden, because it's so hot outside. Then back to the hotel before Dhuhr so we could pray at the mosque.

At the Date Palm Garden

On the next day (it's the last day staying in Madinah actually), we checked out from the hotel after breakfast. Oh, and in Madinah we stayed for 4 days 3 nights.
Then we left to the miqat station in Dhul-Hulayfah. It is the miqat for people living in Madinah and for people approaching Makkah from that direction. It's only 15 minutes from Masjid Nabawi.

So, for you guys who have never performed Umrah or Hajj yet, you should be already in Ihram for Umrah or Hajj before entering Makkah. Well, in this case we already took shower (with the intention of Ihram) and wore Ihram clothing at the hotel before. So, in Dhul-Hulayfah we just needed to pray and declare our intention. For Umrah, we say "Labbayk Allahumma Umrah." After this part, we must avoid the forbidden things. Then we utter the words of Talbiyah as much as we can until we're about to perform Umrah in Makkah. The Talbiyah is "Labbayk, Allahumma Labbayk. Labbayka Laa shareeka laka Labbayk. Innal-hamda wan-n'imata laka wal-mulk. La shareeka lak."

It took around 6 hours from Madinah to Makkah. Kinda long.

MAKKAH

After long journey, finally we arrived at the hotel in Makkah at around Isha time. We stayed in Al Safwah Royale Orchid Hotel. It's the nearest hotel to Masjid Al-Haram, since it is located within the forecourt of the Masjid Al-Haram. The hotel was so nice anyway. The room and the cuisine were perfect.

The view from my room

Okay just skip that part LOL.

After putting our belongings in our room, we immediately prayed Maghrib and Isha.

Then we left the hotel to perform Umrah in the mosque.

Masjid Al-Haram Makkah

Grand Zam-Zam

Inside Masjid Al-Haram

The rituals of Umrah included ihram (we've already done it), tawaf, sa'i, and tahallul.

In performing tawaf, we're circling Kaaba seven times in an anticlockwise direction. After that we prayed behind Maqam of Ibrahim (stepping stone used by Prophet Ibrahim PBUH during the original construction of the Kaaba).

Behind the Kaaba and the Maqam of Ibrahim

Second floor for thawaf

Afterward, we performed sa'i by walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah.

Then, in tahallul, we shortened our hair, but usually in this part men shave their hair.

Yaaay! Alhamdulillah finish!

After completing the Umrah, we could go out of Ihram.

Oh! we didn't forget to drink Zamzam as well!

Same as Masjid Nabawi, in Masjid al-Haram the Zamzam water was also everywhere.

Then we went back to the hotel to take a rest. It was midnight if I'm not mistaken.

What we did in Makkah was all the same with what we did in Madinah.

Pray, pray, pray :) Maybe sometimes we went to the stores after praying.

Oh, this is important. We had to leave the hotel and be in the mosque 1,5 hours before prayer time or the Adhan. It's because all the gates were closed already :(

Sometimes we're a bit late (only 1 hour before prayer time tho!!), then we went upstairs by using escalator outside the mosque. Or else we would pray outside the mosque.

And one day, I experienced Friday prayer. It actually started at around 12 pm I forgot, but we're already sitting inside the mosque at 8.30 am. Otherwise, we couldn't enter the mosque, because on Friday, the gates were closed few hours earlier than usual.

Forecourt of Masjid Al-Haram after Friday Prayer

On the other day, we actually had a city tour, but my family didn't join it. We preferred performing tawaf sunnah in Masjid al-Haram.
But I just performed this few times because my period suddenly struck :( so baaaad
So I just stayed at hotel and waited in the lobby. Look what I saw while relaxing!

Everybody at the hotel prayed together by listening to the Masjid Al-Haram Imam's voice by the speaker provided in the hotel. And you know, we could also hear the Imam's voice in every room too, because the speakers were everywhere, including in the mall (Grand Zam-Zam).

And on the last day, we had to realize that we're gonna go back to Indonesia soon :(

Here we went back to Jakarta thru Jeddah. But before going back, we visited a museum in Makkah.

The name is Alamoudi Museum Makkah. I just knew there is a museum in Makkah.

It was entertaining. We took sooo many pictures there. Here are some spots:

The entrance

Holding the flag

Black Squad Party

I could open the Kaaba!

After that, we went to the airport in Jeddah.

But first, in Jeddah we had a city tour again, such as visiting Floating Mosque, Red Sea, and Balad Market. However, I stayed on the bus since I was so lazy and sleepy.

I just got off the bus when we arrived in Balad Market. I didn't buy anything tho.

It was almost Dhuhr prayer time when we got there. And we just had a little time to shop.

When the Adhan was called, all the stores were close. Alright. That's good.

It's applied in Makkah and Madinah as well. When the Adhan is called, nobody does trades and no stores are open.

Okay we've done our city tour. We're heading to the airport :(

And we had our flight to Jakarta thru Muscat by Oman Airlines again.

It was a really really nice trip. Always unforgettable! I always want to be there, and do not expect to go home soon :( Really miss it...

And this Ramadhan (June 22, 2016) my parents are gonna leave to Makkah for Umrah Lailatul Qadr. Alhamdulillah..

Hopefully Allah gives me and my family more chances to go there again.