Buka puasa at Masjid Nabawi was really happening. It is the same in Makkah - nasi Arab, roti Arab, shawarma, fried chicken, kurma, yogurts, juices etc was distributed around the mosque by kindhearted people. Everybody wants to get more pahala by giving sedekah.
But I didn't join the crowd buka puasa at the dataran outside Masjidil Haram as I want to pray inside the Holy Mosque and look at Kaabah. If you buka puasa outside, chances to go in after that is rather slim as it is super crowded.
It was really really crowded during the last 10 days of Ramadan so you have to be quick if you want to pray inside Masjidil Haram. Guards will close the route to the mosque half an hour before prayer time (one hour if it is during Friday prayer), redirecting you to other gates which are usually very far.
Closing the route is one thing. The gates to enter Masjidil Haram are also restricted because it was already full inside. If you are late, you have to pray at the dataran. They will only let those who are doing umrah to go in. Guys in ihram are safe. Ladies are usually safe too cos they can't tell whether or not we are in ihram. But to make it easy, what my sisters and I did was we walked quickly following guys in ihram to pass the guards :D.
We ditched buka puasa spread at the hotel and the dataran and just contented buka puasa with kurma and zamzam water inside Masjidil Haram. Sometimes with fruits or biscuits we got from the ladies next to us. Everybody was so generous, sharing whatever they were having. God blessed them.
There were plenty of time in between Maghrib and Isyak prayer so we did tawaf sunat. Done with tawaf, we would walk around the mosque to find places to pray Isyak and terawih later. Jemaah who didn't manage to find place to pray would continue doing tawaf.
See the crowd! And this is only at the mataf area. Everywhere inside the mosque was full to the brim.
Terawih in Makkah is same as in Madinah. 10 rakaats non-stop, break for 5-10 minutes and continued another 10 rakaats.
Hungry after terawih, we would dash to Hyatt Regency Hotel Mall nearby for Albaik or Hilton Towers for Al Tazaj hehehe.
Albaik
And my must have drink!
Best mango juice ever! I brought so many cartons back to Malaysia haha.
It was very crowded during Ramadan but it is definitely the best time to be there. It may be uncomfortable for some. I felt uncomfortable too in the beginning, what with the pushing here and there (mannn.. those old ladies from the Middle East are really rough), people walking freely in front of you while you were praying (or even walking over you while you sujud!), shouting to each other (maybe their voices are naturally loud I don't know). Add that with over 40 degree Celsius heat.
Fuhhhh!!! It totally menguji my kesabaran.
Despite everything, I don't mind to repeat the trip to the Holy Land in Ramadan again. Once you prayed and focus, everything just felt beautiful. I felt peace. And that's all that matters.
#startssavingfornextyearsumrahtrip
But I didn't join the crowd buka puasa at the dataran outside Masjidil Haram as I want to pray inside the Holy Mosque and look at Kaabah. If you buka puasa outside, chances to go in after that is rather slim as it is super crowded.
It was really really crowded during the last 10 days of Ramadan so you have to be quick if you want to pray inside Masjidil Haram. Guards will close the route to the mosque half an hour before prayer time (one hour if it is during Friday prayer), redirecting you to other gates which are usually very far.
Closing the route is one thing. The gates to enter Masjidil Haram are also restricted because it was already full inside. If you are late, you have to pray at the dataran. They will only let those who are doing umrah to go in. Guys in ihram are safe. Ladies are usually safe too cos they can't tell whether or not we are in ihram. But to make it easy, what my sisters and I did was we walked quickly following guys in ihram to pass the guards :D.
We ditched buka puasa spread at the hotel and the dataran and just contented buka puasa with kurma and zamzam water inside Masjidil Haram. Sometimes with fruits or biscuits we got from the ladies next to us. Everybody was so generous, sharing whatever they were having. God blessed them.
There were plenty of time in between Maghrib and Isyak prayer so we did tawaf sunat. Done with tawaf, we would walk around the mosque to find places to pray Isyak and terawih later. Jemaah who didn't manage to find place to pray would continue doing tawaf.
See the crowd! And this is only at the mataf area. Everywhere inside the mosque was full to the brim.
Terawih in Makkah is same as in Madinah. 10 rakaats non-stop, break for 5-10 minutes and continued another 10 rakaats.
Hungry after terawih, we would dash to Hyatt Regency Hotel Mall nearby for Albaik or Hilton Towers for Al Tazaj hehehe.
Al Tazaj
Best mango juice ever! I brought so many cartons back to Malaysia haha.
It was very crowded during Ramadan but it is definitely the best time to be there. It may be uncomfortable for some. I felt uncomfortable too in the beginning, what with the pushing here and there (mannn.. those old ladies from the Middle East are really rough), people walking freely in front of you while you were praying (or even walking over you while you sujud!), shouting to each other (maybe their voices are naturally loud I don't know). Add that with over 40 degree Celsius heat.
Fuhhhh!!! It totally menguji my kesabaran.
Despite everything, I don't mind to repeat the trip to the Holy Land in Ramadan again. Once you prayed and focus, everything just felt beautiful. I felt peace. And that's all that matters.
#startssavingfornextyearsumrahtrip
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