The Holy city of Makkah

Before anything else, I have to say that I am very impatient and restless ��� I want to say a thousand things all in a go��� before I get bored.

So many things have happened since my last posting. If you don���t believe me, well, it suffices to say that I performed two Umrahs (Alhamdolillah) during this time. As soon as I was through with the last of my practical exams, Amma, my sisters and I were to depart to Saudi Arabia where my father lives and works. Our real destination was Tabuk, my birth-city to the north of S. Arabia, close to the Jordanian border. However, we had wanted to perform Umrah too, so we boarded the 4-hour Karachi-Jeddah flight on 1st July.

The flight was fine, Alhamdolillah, but the real trouble started at the Jeddah airport. The problem is that Saudis, by nature, are a very lazy and proud nation. The immigration officers strolled here and there, anywhere but their desks! The immigration lines grew longer, and my mother, as usual, drifted from line to line to see which was shortest, or tried to jump the line and go right to the front��� embarrassing, yes. Anyway, after about an hour, we were out of the airport where we met Abba. Aaah��� family reunions are always very pleasant. Still, we do meet Abba within six months or so, so it���s not a very long separation!

Makkah is an hour���s drive from Jeddah, and we planned to enter the city by 3 pm to avoid the rush of Zuhr prayer. School holidays start here around 20th June, which means the two holy cities are jam-packed, especially on the weekend ��� Thursday and Friday. We stopped at a popular fast-food restaurant on the way ��� Tazaj ��� not McDonalds (local fast-food chains are much more popular here than foreign franchises like McDonalds and KFC). After a sumptious meal, we were back on the road.

The Meeqat i.e. the sacred Haram boundary (beyond which pilgrims are to wear Ihram) lies almost within the city of Makkah now, due to large scale development in recent years. Amma, my sisters and I had already offered the two Nafl required for entering Ihram condition in Karachi so all we had to do was wait for Abba to don his Ihram at the meeqat, and join us.

Recently, I���ve been taking a lot of interest in all things religious, which basically originated from attending voluntary Quranic classes at my college for two years. My Zoology teacher, Mrs. Rukhsana Saleem, is a very kind and elderly woman ��� she taught us, a small group of about twenty to thirty students, major Surahs during her free time and our break periods. It was a very enlightening experience, especially since it was so interactive and we were also able to discuss major global issues and their effect on Muslims in the present and coming times. Coupled with this activity was my inherent and instinctive love for the Middle East. It all combined into a very excited and ecstatic (excuse the alliterations) wait up to the Umrah. We were driving towards Makkah, through hills and rocks of varying shades, and I could almost imagine this place thousands of years ago, graced by our Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions on camelback, slowly making their way across the dunes���

The city of Makkah, once confined within the main vale, has now spread over the surrounding hills and mountains. This was only possible after development authorities bore through the mountains, creating a mesh of tunnels, underpasses, flyovers and bridges. This has really facilitated the free flow of traffic and easy access to the Haram, especially in peak seasons of pilgrimage.

We made straight for the hotel, where we planned to rest for an hour or two before proceeding for Umrah. Our place of stay was the Pakistan House, for the first time ever, and I���m pleased (and surprised) to say that it was a lovely experience. Although the Pakistan House might need a touch of maintenance here and there, it is a very decent place to stay, with a well-mannered and efficient staff employed directly through the embassy. The major plus point is that it is quite close (about 900 m) to the Haram and easily affordable by all ��� which says a lot, since hotels close to the Haram charge maddeningly high sums.

To the point, then. We decided to offer Maghrib prayers at the Haram, and then start our Umrah. Thus, after a nap, we were on our way towards the mosque. My heart was fluttering with excitement, and longed to see the Kabah as soon as possible. The wait had been very long and much delayed. Across the wide open, marble courtyard of the Haram, we entered through ���Baab Fahd��� (Fahd gate), and headed for the ladies section.

Pilgrims who visit Makkah for the first time are often wound up in various worries ��� passport, visa, hotels, transport, etc. and the true magnificence and essence of the place bounces off them the first day. But when they stay there for a few days, everything sinks in. Pure and fresh air that seems to blow from the Kabah itself, greets the pilgrim and offers relief from the burning heat of summer. The marble is cool beneath the feet ��� and there���s a good reason for that too. Outside the Haram, in the courtyard, cool water is circulated beneath the marble to keep it cool, even at mid-day. Around the Kabah, within the mosque, the same procedure enables pilgrims to perform Tawaf in the peak days of summer (circling the Kabah 7 times, while praying and glorifying Allah).

Excuse me, I do tend to go off-track and begin to ramble terribly sometimes ��� it is a very marked idiosyncrasy.

After Maghrib, we went up to the Kabah and began our Tawaf. The crowd making Tawaf consisted of those in Ihram, as well as casual visitors. With the light from the sunset tinting the sky faintly, and Zikr and Tasbeeh resounding in the air, it is a most exhilarating experience ��� but then again, concentrating on your steps and the constant elbowing you receive from your surrounding people makes it a wee bit difficult to concentrate on the religious and spiritual aspect. One bit of advice though ��� try perform Tawaf after Isha prayer or before Fajr, when most of the public has left and usually, only pilgrims performing Umrah remain��� it is the most peaceful and relaxed time you could get.

After Tawaf, it was time for Isha prayer and we quickly joined the congregation. The Imaams who lead prayers at both Makkah and Madinah are widely revered for their excellent Tilawat (recitation of the Holy Quran) but you have to hope to be there at the right time ��� apart from the month of Ramadan ��� to hear the best, such as Sudais, Shorim and Hudhaify. During my entire Umrah trip, three days at Makkah and two at Madinah, there were just the last Maghrib and Isha at Madinah which were led by Hudhaify.

One thing that I almost forgot to mention, and should have mentioned right in the beginning, is the excellent management and maintenance at the two Holy Mosques. These two sites, which are visited round-the-clock by thousands daily, and millions annually, are maintained, under the supervision of the authorities, by the Saudi bin-Laden group. This company basically supplies the manpower required to run and maintain almost every aspect of the Mosques. Any body who visits these sites cannot overlook the enormous effort put into maintaining them 24/7 ��� from cleaning the marble floors, walls, stairs, escalators, Tawaf area, Saee area and courtyards to the colossal task of ensuring that Zam Zam water is available to every pilgrim just a few feet away ��� wherever he or she is inside the mosque! The staff is constantly seen polishing the walkways with their heavy equipment, vacuuming the carpets and picking up trash and empty water cups.

The number of pilgrims and visitors at both Holy Mosques has been increasing substantially over the years and the Zam Zam well obviously cannot supply abundant water to each and every city in the Kingdom, as well as foreign countries, apart from the Mosques themselves ��� without diluting the Zam Zam water slightly. Also, Zam Zam is very ���heavy���, rich in many salts and minerals; earlier, when it was not diluted with ordinary water, it was very difficult for anyone to drink even a single glass of it. Nowadays, you can easily down up to two glasses but the fact remains that Zam Zam is very extraordinary water ��� after a while, you really wish you had a bottle of ordinary water.

The Zam Zam well was earlier easily accessible and anyone could go down the wide, sloping tunnel near the Kabah and get as close to it as was possible with all the pumping equipment, machinery and network of pipes surrounding it. The authorities recently closed up the entrance, as it took up a lot of space in the inner courtyard and now, I���ve heard, there is a separate entrance for men through a different approach area.

In Makkah, the maintenance staff constantly check the Zam Zam water coolers, and replace the empty ones, as well as replenish the disposable cups with each cooler. You might think I���m stupid to point out something so trivial but you really have to be there to know what I���m talking about. When I say that a drink of Zam Zam is just a few feet away, wherever you may be, I���m not kidding! There might be more than a thousand Zam Zam coolers at the Haram in Makkah ��� and people drinking out of them continuously, every time using a disposable cup ��� and you never find a cooler empty. Kudos to the staff!!

So��� after the Isha prayer, we went ahead for Saee��� which can be uncomfortable for very old or very young feet. The distance from the Safa to the Murwah hill must be around 500m and you have to walk to and fro, a total of seven times ��� that���s around 3500m or 3.5km. As in the rest of the mosque, this area has been paved with marble ��� and interestingly, this was the first area of the Haram to be paved. Additionally, two lanes have been provided for those in wheelchairs. Walking and praying during Saee, I could only imagine how difficult it must have been during the days when people would walk the same track, then full of pebbles and rock fragments, with bare feet.

As soon as we were done with Saee, that is, about a quarter of an hour later, all we had to do was snip off a bit of a strand of hair and that completed the Umrah, Alhmadolillah! I just hope that it is accepted by Allah.

The rest of our stay at Makkah was relaxed and easy going ��� most of us had a few troubles with the gastrointestinal track (Haha, I wanna be a doctor, mommy!) but those were solved with light medicines ��� but why am I mentioning this? Anyway��� we had lots and lots of icecream cones (especially after Fajr prayer), and my favorite Arabian sandwich ��� the 'Taa���mia'. A 'Taa���mia' is a ���scrumplicious��� and filling sandwich: half an Arabian nan, the Khubz is stuffed with Falafil (round fried kebabs, that look like donuts, made out of chick-pea paste), fried brinjal, tomatoes, onions, pickles, yoghurt sauce, potato fries, boiled eggs and baby corns! Yum��� yum��� I just love everything Arab.

Leaving Makkah was not something my sisters and I were very happy about ��� we had settled into a comfortable routine, and especially liked the atmosphere of the Pakistan House. ���Must we go to Madinah?��� was what we kept asking Abba. Anyway, after performing Umrah for a second time (we had to go to the Ayesha Mosque at the outskirts of the city, to don Ihram again) we left Makkah on the 4th of July, in the afternoon��� and headed for Madinah.

This post is enormously enormous ��� and I���m feeling bored now ��� Allah Hafiz.