The Hajj - A Journey in Parts - The Road to Medina
Packing enough clothes for a ten day stay, I carry the luggage to the bus. A relatively modern bus with air-conditioning and nice comfortable seats. It is an eight hour drive across some five hundred or so kilometers. Taking my place at the back of the bus we make our way out of the city of Mecca.
The road we are following is roughly along the path that our Prophet and his trusted companion took, across the baron landscape with rocks, stones and sand for company. The hot sun beating down and the chill of the night as the heat dissipated into the cold dry desert air. The bus chugged along relentlessly wheeling its way towards our destination.
Out of nowhere across a rise, a petrol station. An oasis in our midst. We clamber off the bus, the searing heat rising to meet us. A time for relieving ourselves and then to the ablutions before gathering together to pray. A short lunch and we off again.
A couple of miles down the road the bus comes to halt. The engine cooling system cannot keep up and the bus pulls to the shoulder of the road. Eager to stretch our legs, we disembark while the bus driver and his assistant grab canisters of water and douse the engine in an attempt to cool it. Two hours later we are on our way again.
As we draw nearer to the Prophets city, we began chanting blessings to the prophet. The light is fading and as we cross over some hills the city of Medina lay sprawled across the desert before us. The minarets of the holy mosque lit up in all their magnificence reaching into the sky.
It is another two hours before we arrive our hotel. The night covers the sky and the mosque has shut it's doors for the night. Our hotel, directly across from the precincts of the mosque, provides a spectacular view while the green dome covering the Prophets resting place stands alone bathed in brilliant white light.
Tomorrow after the early morning prayer we shall pay our respects to the Holy Prophet :-)
The road we are following is roughly along the path that our Prophet and his trusted companion took, across the baron landscape with rocks, stones and sand for company. The hot sun beating down and the chill of the night as the heat dissipated into the cold dry desert air. The bus chugged along relentlessly wheeling its way towards our destination.
Out of nowhere across a rise, a petrol station. An oasis in our midst. We clamber off the bus, the searing heat rising to meet us. A time for relieving ourselves and then to the ablutions before gathering together to pray. A short lunch and we off again.
A couple of miles down the road the bus comes to halt. The engine cooling system cannot keep up and the bus pulls to the shoulder of the road. Eager to stretch our legs, we disembark while the bus driver and his assistant grab canisters of water and douse the engine in an attempt to cool it. Two hours later we are on our way again.
As we draw nearer to the Prophets city, we began chanting blessings to the prophet. The light is fading and as we cross over some hills the city of Medina lay sprawled across the desert before us. The minarets of the holy mosque lit up in all their magnificence reaching into the sky.
It is another two hours before we arrive our hotel. The night covers the sky and the mosque has shut it's doors for the night. Our hotel, directly across from the precincts of the mosque, provides a spectacular view while the green dome covering the Prophets resting place stands alone bathed in brilliant white light.
Tomorrow after the early morning prayer we shall pay our respects to the Holy Prophet :-)
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