Chapter 2 - Medinah
This is the town of Medina where the Prophet migrated to after persecution at the hands of the Mekkans. Even now, the town seems softer and gentler than Makkah perhaps because there is less of the hustle and bustle associated with Hajj. The center of town is the mosque of the prophet called Masjid Nabvi. It is ringed by hotels.
Our first hotel was only for 7 hours because we could not check into the Movenpick when our flight landed. We quickly changed and made it to the Fajr (dawn) prayers. Since we were so rushed, we forgot Mummy's chair and she had improvise. THe hotel room had four beds, and all the men took one room and the women the other. Nadeem as usual was dressed impeccably with starched clothes.
We have gone native by now. Mummy at left in her white hijab, Nadia hard to recognize. The Rajput brothers still looking cool in their sunglasses, and Arshad in his Pakistani Shalwar Kameez and jacket. On the right is the local guide that met us, but we were unsure where he was at any given time since he had the disappearing trick well practiced!
The Rajput men with hair......that would change in a week. Everyone bought some Thobs, the local gown you see them wearing. They cost about 10-15 rials or $4-5. Comfortable but very restrictive in movement. For example we found it is hard to leap obstacles and run in those things which made us hypothesize that the clothing design is integrally linked to the slower pace of Arab life.
One of the secret photos since cameras were not permitted inside the mosque. There were guards at the doors to check bags as you walked in but since we were in a group it was tough to check. The shelves hold copies of the Holy Quran. At this point the people are praying individually since the congregation prayers have not started. The atmosphere in the mosque is very peaceful and really allows you to think, meditate and pray.
The cleaning crew at the mosque. Mostly Pakistanis, and Bengalis, they were always working hard and took great pride in their work. We always asked those guys for direction, firstly because they could speak Urdu and secondly they would go out of their way to help.
The group. LtoR: Ambreen(standing in black), Arshad Jan, Ash, me and Dr. Rajput. Mummy is in a wheelchair that was acquired by Ambreen. I really liked how she got things done. She spotted the chair which are there for use in the mosque(at least we think!), and she nabbed it since Mummy was feeling pretty tired. She also got Mummy the new updated head dress which was much easier to put on. In all fairness, this Haj would have been difficult for Mummy without her.
A group of Shia women praying by Fatima's grave. She was the Prophet's daughter and the wife of Ali, a revered figure in Islam. The shiite seem to have their own secret maps to all the gravesites although the Saudis are very particular about not building tombs and leaving any identifying markers on gravesites.
Arshad and Ambreen at the site of the Battle of Ohud. We took a bus there as a group. This battle was waged just outside Medina and was one of the few battles that the Muslims lost. A group of archers were supposed to hold the flank from the small hill in the background, but when the muslims started winning, they deserted their station to share in the plunder thereby leaving the muslim army open to a counteratack. In this battle the Prophet was wounded but was carried to safety. A woman was part of the group that bore arms to defend him. This goes to show the participation that early muslim women had.
