Monday 5 November 2012

Maqam Sahabat - Dead Sea - Aqabah

Bismillah and a very good day. 

Hi guys! Now we're going to share with you the wonderful places that we visited during the second day of the tour. 



We kicked of the day by visiting 5 Maqam-s of le Sahabat

Maqam-s done. Then we immediately started the 4 hours journey towards..wait for it..the super salty Dead Sea! This was definitely the place I've been looking forward to the most.  Like seriously, I've always wanted to try floating in it ever since I knew about its existence :')

Nice beach, don't you think?


Well, this was actually what we had in mind

But yeah, we totally forgot the newspaper. 

I warn you though, the saltiness of the water can be annoyingly stinging. I am a living victim.

And ohh, some of us also created their own amateur mud treatment.

And this was the source of the mud.

Now what do you need to to have a perfect beach holiday? Barbequeeee!

Gorgeous, gorgeous sunset. Subhanallah.
Btw here's a piece of verse from the Quran regarding this place,
Hud : 82 - So when Our Commandment came, We turned (the towns of Sodom in Palestine) upside down, and rained on them stones of baked clay, piled up;

Later, we stayed in a motel for the night. It was terrible beyond words so I won't bother to post any pictures of it -___-

Let's just jump to the third day shall we? 

In the morning, we headed to Aqaba, located south of Jordan. And we visited a fort built by the great Muslim warrior, Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi. It so happens that he used to build fortresses in the places that he had conquered.

And here's the Red Sea. Do you recall the story of prophet Moses splitting the ocean into two with his stick to escape from the cruel Pharaoh? Now this is the place. This is also where the Pharaoh was drowned.

Al -Baqarah : 50 - And (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you and drowned Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people while you were looking (at them, when the sea-water covered them).

Depiction of the event:



They have camel rides on the beach for the tourists. How cool is that?

And guess what? There's a China Town here!

I know it's a China Town, but I never really expected there to be any Chinese vendors. Arabic-speaking chinese to that. Amazement level : Jaw dropping



Bye peeps, wait for my post for Petra!






Saturday 3 November 2012

My Life In Ruins : Ummu Qays - Gerash - Cave of Seven Sleepers

Bismillah, Salam Alaik. How was your Eid Adha holiday? Mine was great Alhamdulillah. And this is why. Saya ronda sakan! I joined a 3 days tour conducted by a group of students in Irbed, and we went to a few nice places around Jordan. And now I'm going to bring you on a virtual tour. How cool is that? Okay, enough rambling, let's start !

First Day

Umm Qays. It is a town located in the Northern of Jordan where the borders of Jordan, Israel and Syria meet. It's basically a small trading centre built by the Romans and...this is so boring. Let's just let the pictures do the talking shall we? (Y) 

Our ever so committed tour guide :)

West Theatre of Umm Qais

Roman ruins. These pillars used to support a temple.

More views of the said temple:

Museum

Next stop : Jerash. Another Roman city. Amazing thing is that this city was actually buried in soil for hundreds of years before being re-discovered by some German guy. Come on-lah Jordanians. How could you guys miss a city this big? -.-

Now take a look at the enormous, breath-taking entrance

Pillars everywhere

Next : Cave of The Seven Sleepers. The place where according to the Quran, a few youth + a dog found safety from the cruel  King Diqyanus who tried to kill them. They slept for 309 years before waking up again.

Al-Kahfi : 25 - And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, and add nine (for lunar years).

And oh, sooo sorry, I forgot to snap pictures inside the cave. *headpalm*
Some said the cave might actually be located in Turkey or Damsyik (Syria), but the one located in Jordan matches the descriptions in the Quran the most. But hey, what's important is the lesson from the story, right? 

Al-Kahfi : 22 -  (Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth, guessing at the unseen; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say (O Muhammad ): "My Lord knows best their number; none knows them but a few." So debate not (about their number, etc.) except with the clear proof (which We have revealed to you). And consult not any of them (people of the Scripture, Jews and Christians) about (the affair of) the people of the Cave.

Last stop for the day : Jabal Al Qal'a

Temple of Hercules

That's all for the first day. Kita sambung next post wokeyh?