25th May

What I forgot to mention about the ride was, there are toilets on the way, just be careful u have a change of clothing with you for Madina and your own wet/dry tissues..

So, in Madina then. The ride in to the city was melancholic - this is the city of my beloved! A very different feeling.. Though the initial impression of the city is a bit of a let down - lots of construction work going on, many high rise buildings - well, not as high as we have here but too high for the city of the Prophet s.a.w.

We had initially planned on staying at the Pakistan House. Don't know how it was because we cancelled that plan seeing that we'd have had to cross a busy main road to get across. This hotel, the New Al Ansar was good enough. Close by and their rates are not bad. 300 a night for a 4-bed room. Bring your own stuff for making tea though.

So, we had some food, which we'd bought with us, and a cuppa, and off we went to the Haram for Asr prayers.

You enter into the Haram area via huge green/gold gates. The ground is all smooth and cool marble.. Though you can actually roam around with your shoes on, yet the whole place is prayer ground, so I prefered taking mine off. Bring a bag, stuff the shoes in and hold it.. or, say a little prayer and place them in an easy place. Both things work.

Well, what to say. The sense of calm and quiet that prevails the city despite its construction work and busy roads is intensified here. Everything is quiet and calm. At least I had no inclination to chat or laugh around.. I was too aware of what grounds I was treading on.

Acceptedly, the area has changed a lot. Yet it was all the vicinity of the initial Masjid-e-Nabwi, s.a.w. Who knows, where I was standing? He might have stood at the same place at some point.. Hmmm..
















Spent some time there, got information about Ziyarat times and came back to the hotel to rest. It had been a long day and we were all drained. We did go back for prayers though, that was not to be missed.

Food was not such a great issue. We had some with us, courtesy our friends, and there are enough shops around. Amazingly, food rituals, that form a basic part of our life here are home, were so unimportant.. though yet again I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cup of tea