Middle East Tour

View the The Castles of Khaybar in 3-D

2011-09-10T15:50:00.001+03:00

View the The Castles of Khaybar in 3-D

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=25.7406644&lon=39.2531633&z=17&l=0&m=s

aracresort-alula

2011-09-10T15:44:00.002+03:00

http://www.aracresort-alula.com/ppc/?gclid=CPqb6ILakqsCFQVTfAod2VsUvQ

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=26.6666835&lon=37.9069304&z=18&l=0&m=b

Masjid Kou in Taif (more pics)

2010-12-31T22:27:00.001+03:00

Masjid Kou in Taif

2010-12-30T15:35:00.002+03:00

Masjid Kou is few hundred years old near where Prophet Muhammad SAW rested after being attacked by the Mob. Want to take a tour.... or visit (coordinates below)

http://syahiryusof.blogspot.com/2009/12/taif-series-part-1.html

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=21.2570465&lon=40.38674&z=18&l=0&m=b

Madinatul Munawwarah in 1938

2010-01-22T22:26:00.003+03:00

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Makkah (Makkatul Mukarramah)

2008-09-11T05:48:00.010+03:00

Mecca, also spelled Makkah (in full: Makkah Al-Mukarramah; Arabic: مكّة المكرمة‎) is Islam's holiest city and home to the Kaaba shrine and the Grand Mosque. The city is known for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which being one of the five pillars of Islam, attracts more than 2 million pilgrims.

Mecca in 1953

Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants. In the 7th century, the Islamic prophet Muhammad proclaimed Islam in the city, by then an important trading center, and the city played an important role in the early history of Islam. After 966, Mecca was led by local sharifs, until 1924, when it came under the rule of the Saudis.^[1] In its modern period, Mecca has seen a great expansion in size and infrastructure.

The modern day city is located in and the capital of Saudi Arabia's Makkah Province, in the historic Hejaz region. With a population of 1,700,000 (2008), the city is located 73 kilometres (45 miles) inland from Jeddah, in a narrow valley, and 277 metres (910 ft) above sea level.

Early history

According to Islamic tradition, the history of Mecca goes back to Ibrahim (ابراهيم, Abraham) when he built the Kaaba with the help of his son Ismā'īl (اسماعيل, Ishmael), around 2000 BC. The inhabitants were stated to have fallen away from monotheism through the influence of the Amelkites.^[11] Historians state that the Kaaba later became the repository of 360 idols and tribal gods of all of Arabia's nomadic tribes. Until the 7th century, Mecca's most important god would remain to be Hubal, having been placed there by the ruling Quraysh tribe.^[12]^[13]

The city was also known to Ptolemy as "Macoraba". In the 5th century, the Quraysh tribe took control of Mecca, and became skilled merchants and traders. In the 6th century they joined the lucrative spice trade as well, since battles in other parts of the world were causing trade routes to divert from the dangerous sea routes to the relatively more secure overland routes. The Byzantine Empire had previously controlled the Red Sea, but piracy had been on the increase. Another previous route, that from the Persian Gulf via the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was also being threatened by exploitation from the Sassanid Empire, as well as being disrupted by the Lakhmids, the Ghassanids, and the Roman-Persian Wars. Mecca's prominence as a trading center surpassed the cities of Petra and Palmyra.^[14]^[15]

By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major settlements in northern Arabia, all along the southwestern coast that borders the Red Sea, in a habitable region between the sea and the great desert to the east. This area, known as the Hejaz, featured three settlements that had grown around oases, where water was available. In the center of the Hejaz was Yathrib, later renamed as Medina. 250 miles (400 km) south of Yathrib was Taif, a mountain town, and northwest of Taif was Mecca. Though the area around Mecca was completely barren, Mecca was the wealthiest and most important of the three settlements. Islamic histories state that it had abundant water via the Zamzam Well, which was the site of the holiest shrine in Arabia, the Kaaba, and was also at the crossroads of major caravan routes.^[16]. Actually the well of Zamzam was barely sufficient to support the small community there, the Kaaba was but one of many such Arabian Polytheistic temple found in the peninsula, and the city was the terminus for a single caravan route which ran from Mecca to Syria.^[17]

The harsh conditions of the Arabian peninsula usually meant a constant state of conflict between the tribes, but once a year they would declare a truce and converge upon Mecca in an annual pilgrimage. This journey was intended for religious reasons, to pay homage to the shrine, and to drink from the Well of Zamzam. However, it was also the time each year that disputes would be arbitrated, debts would be resolved, and trading would occur at Meccan fairs. These annual events gave the tribes a sense of common identity and made Mecca extremely important throughout the peninsula.^[18]

Muhammad's great-grandfather had been the first to equip a camel caravan, and they became a regular part of the town's economy. Alliances were struck between the merchants in Mecca, and the local nomadic tribes, who would bring leather, livestock, and metals which were mined in the local mountains. Caravans would then be loaded up in Mecca, and would take the goods to the cities in Syria and Iraq.^[19] Islamic tradition claims that goods from other continents also flowed through Mecca. From Africa and the Far East towards Syria supposedly flowed spices, leather, drugs, cloth, and slaves; and in return Mecca was to have received money, weapons, cereals, and wine, which were distributed throughout Arabia. The Meccans signed treaties with both the Byzantines and the Bedouins, and negotiated safe passage for caravans, which included such things as water and pasture rights. These further increased Mecca's political power as well as economic, and Mecca became the center of a loose confederation of client tribes, which included those of the Banu Tamim. Other forces such as the Abyssinian, Ghassan, and Lakhm were in decline, and Meccan influence was the primary binding force in Arabia in the late 6th century.^[18]

Muhammad

Main articles: Muhammad and Conquest of Mecca

Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570, and thus Islam has been inextricably linked with Mecca ever since. Muhammad was born in a minor faction, the Hashemites, of the ruling Quraysh tribe. Islamic tradition states that he began receiving divine revelations here in 610 AD, and began to preach monotheism against Meccan paganism. After enduring persecution for 13 years, Muhammad emigrated (see Hijra) in 622 with his followers to Medina. The conflict between the Quraysh and the Muslims, however, continued: the two fought Battle of Badr, where Muslims defeated the Quraysh outside Medina; whilst the Meccans overcame the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud. Overall, however, Meccan efforts to annihilate Islam were unsuccessful, and during the Battle of the Trench in 627, the combined armies of Arabia were unable to defeat Muhammad.^[20]

The Ottoman Empire, Including Mecca

In 628, Muhammad and his followers peacefully marched to Mecca, attempting to enter the city for pilgrimage. Instead, however, both Muslims and Meccans entered into the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, whereby Muslims and Quraysh would cease fighting and Muslims would be allowed into the city the following year. Two years later the Quraysh violated the truce, but instead of continuing their fight, the city of Mecca shortly surrendered to Muhammad. The prophet declared amnesty for the inhabitants, gave generous gifts to the leading Quraysh. Mecca was cleansed of all its idols and cult images in the Kaaba. Muhammad declared Mecca as the holiest site in Islam ordaining the it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage, one of the faith's five pillars. Despite his conquest, however, Muhammad chose to return to Medina, leaving behind Attab bin Usaid to govern the city. Muhammad's other activities in Arabia led to the unification of the peninsula, putting an end to the wars that had disrupted life in the city for so long.^[20]^[14]

Muhammad died in 632, but with the sense of unity that he'd passed on to the Arabians, Islam began a rapid expansion, and within the next few hundred years stretched from North Africa well into Asia. As the Islamic Empire grew, Mecca continued to attract pilgrims not just from Arabia, but now from all across the Empire, as Muslims sought to perform the annual Hajj.

Mecca also attracted a year-round population of scholars, pious Muslims who wished to live close to the Kaaba, and local inhabitants who served the pilgrims. Due to the difficulty and expense of the Hajj, pilgrims arrived by boat at Jeddah, and came overland, or joined the annual caravans from Syria or Iraq.

Political history

In Islamic history, Muhammad's emigration to Medina established the city as the first capital of the nation. When the Umayyad dynasty took power they moved the capital to Damascus, Syria, and then the Abbasid Caliphate moved the capital to Baghdad, Iraq. The center of the Islamic Empire remained at Baghdad for nearly 500 years, and flourished into a center of research and commerce. In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Baghdad and sacked the city. This event was one of the most detested events in Islamic history. Soon after the Battle of Baghdad, the Mongols rampaged west and conquered Syria. The next city to quickly emerge as the center of power in the Islamic state was Cairo, in Egypt. When the Ottoman Empire came into prominence the capital was moved to Constantinople. Mecca still remained as a prominent trading center though. When pilgrims arrived for the Hajj they often financed their journey by bringing goods which they could sell in the Meccan markets, and acquiring goods there which they could sell when they returned home.^[21]

Mecca re-entered Islamic political history briefly when it was held by Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, an early Muslim who opposed the Umayyad caliphs. The caliph Yazid I besieged Mecca in 683.^[22]

Thereafter the city figured little in politics, it was a city of devotion and scholarship. For centuries it was governed by the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca.

In 930, Mecca was attacked and sacked by Qarmatians, a millenarian Ismaili Muslim sect led by Abu Tahir Al-Jannabi and centered in eastern Arabia.^[23] The Black Death pandemic hit Mecca in 1349.^[24] In 1517, the Sharif of Mecca, Barakat bin Muhammed, acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman Caliph, but maintained a great degree of local autonomy.^[25]

The city was captured in 1802 by the First Saudi State (Also known as Wahhabis^{[citation needed]}), The Saudis held Mecca until 1813^{[citation needed]}. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the Ottoman Empire, who had exercised sovereignty over the holy cities since 1517, and the lethargic Ottomans were finally moved to action. The task of bringing Mecca back under Ottoman control was assigned to their powerful viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha,^[26] who successfully returned Mecca following the victory at Mecca in 1813. In 1818, the Wahhabis were again defeated, but some of Al Saud clan lived on to found the Second Saudi State that lasted until 1891, and later the present Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia

In June 1916, During the Arab Revolt, the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali revolted against the Ottoman Empire from Mecca and it was the first city captured by his forces following Battle of Mecca (1916). Sharif Hussien declared a new state, Kingdom of Hejaz, and declared Mecca as the capital of the new kingdom. In 1924, the Sharif of Mecca were overthrown by the Saudis, and Mecca was incorporated into Saudi Arabia. Following the Battle of Mecca (1924), The city joint Saudi Arabia until the present days.^{[citation needed]}

On November 20, 1979 two hundred armed Islamist dissidents led by Saudi preacher Juhayman al-Otaibi seized the Grand Mosque. They claimed that the Saudi royal family no longer represented pure Islam and that the mosque, and the Kaaba, must be held by those of the true faith. The rebels seized tens of thousands of pilgrims as hostages and barricaded themselves in the mosque. The siege lasted two weeks, and resulted in several hundred deaths and significant damage to the shrine, especially the Safa-Marwa gallery. While it is the Pakistani forces that carried out the bloodless assault, they were assisted with weapons and planning by a small team of advisors from The French GIGN commando unit.^[27]

On July 31, 1987, during an anti-US demonstration by pilgrims, 402 people were killed (275 Iranian pilgrims, 85 Saudis [including policemen], and 45 pilgrims from other countries) and 649 wounded (303 Iranian pilgrims, 145 Saudis [including policemen] and 201 pilgrims from other countries) after the Saudi police opened fire against the unarmed demonstrators.

Madinatul Munawwarah

2008-09-11T04:51:00.004+03:00

Medina currently has a population of more than 1,300,000 people (2006). It was originally known as Yathrib, an oasis city dating as far back as the 6th century BCE.^[1] It was later inhabited by Jewish refugees who fled the aftermath of the war with the Romans in the 2nd century CE. Later the city's name was changed to Madīnat(u) 'n-Nabiy (مدينة ﺍﻟﻨﺒﻲ "city of the prophet") or Al-Madīnat(u) 'l-Munawwarah ("the enlightened city" or "the radiant city"), while the short form Madīnah simply means "city". Medina is celebrated for containing the mosque of Muhammad, and so ranks as the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca (Makkah).^[2] Medina is 210 miles (338 kilometres north of Mecca and about 120 mi (193 km) from the Red Sea coast. It is situated in the most fertile part of all the Hejaz territory, the streams of the vicinity tending to converge in this locality. An immense plain extends to the south; in every direction the view is bounded by hills and mountains.

Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the prophet) stands at the east of the city and resembles the mosque at Mecca on a smaller scale. Its courtyard is almost 500 ft (152 m) in length, the dome is high with three picturesque minarets . The tomb of Muhammad, who wafat (passed away) and was buried here in 632 C.E., is enclosed with a screen of iron filigree, at the south side of which the hajji goes through his devotions, for all of which he pays, but is consoled with the assurance that one prayer here is as good as a thousand elsewhere.^[3]

The tombs of Fatimah (Muhammad's daughter) and Abu Bakr (first caliph and the father of Muhammad's wife, Aisha), and of Umar (Umar ibn Al-Khattab), the second caliph, are also here. The mosque dates back to the time of Muhammad, but has been twice burned and reconstructed.^[3]

Ackowledgement and Thanks

2008-09-04T13:59:00.003+03:00

For such a trip to have been a success without any major level of advance planning, we must have been helped by Allah and many of his angels on the way. We make Shukr to the Almighty Allah SWT for his mercy and guidance to allow us to undertake such a memorable trip and would also like to thank and recognize the following:

1.
Mufti Abdul Kader Hoosen (CII) for his inspiration and imploring us to act upon our desire to undertake the trip. He also stressed on the importance of stopping in Khaybar and advised that while Hadith of our beloved Prophet Muhammad guides us to hurry through places like Madain Saleh, for the sake of Ibrah (lessons), spending a nominal amount of time to visit, see and understand while keeping in mind the Hadith will benefit us. He likened such visit to being similar to visiting Wadi Muhassar between Mina and Muzdalifa (near Makkah) where the elephants were destroyed. {Holy Quran-Surah 105 Fil}

2.
Unitours Jordan
Work: +962 6 568-3260
Mobile: 0795622744
E-Mail: unitours@uni-tours.com
Website: www.uni-tours.com
Name: Br. Mahmoud Shatat (Abu Rami)

The assistance, advice and guidance of Br. Abu Rami was unbelievable. He is keen to assist anyone to visit Al-Quds and helps you whether or not you are his customer. Amazingly, we got a lot of assistance from him and did not make any bookings in advance - so no business for him. We tried to make Palestine bookings through him when we visited his office but due uncertainty of logistics (whether we would make it through the border), we could not confirm booking with him as we would have to pay (so would he), whether or not we made it through.
STRONGLY RECOMMEND ANYONE VISITING SYRIA, JORDAN & PALESTINE TO SUPPORT SUCH A SINCERE TOUR OPERATOR. THEY ARE ALSO VERY EXPERIENCED AS THEY CONDUCT MIDDLE EAST TOUR GROUPS ALL THE TIME.

3. Br. Abie Dawjee
RESEARCH AND INFORMATION NETWORK (RAIN)
Director : Abie Dawjee
P O Box 26119, Isipingo Beach, Durban, South Africa 4115.
tel: 0027 31 9029174
fax: 0866893206
mobile: 082 352 352 6
e-mail : abie@iafrica.com

MIDDLE EAST EDUCATIONAL TOURS
FACT INTERNATIONAL Office:
Office 725, 7th Floor,
Overport City Office Tower,
Overport City –cnr Ridge Rd and Overport Drive
Phone 031 2072276
Email fact@mwebbiz.co.za

Br. Abie gave us advice and guidance over the telephone even though we did not meet, he was very supportive and helpful. He provided us the contact details of Unitours who are his partner in the MIDDLE EAST EDUCATIONAL TOURS he conducts a few times a year from South Africa.

4. Sheikh Ali Al-Abbasi
Imamul Haram - Masjidul Aqsa Falasteen
Imam of Al-Aqsa Masjid
Mobile: +972 54 435-8756

Shiekh Ali who speaks very good English gave us lots of advices, guidance and history/current issues relating to Palestine. He advised us that many of the guides around the Haram are not very knowledgeable and often make us stories regarding the Haram. He provided us a clear list of places to visit around the Old City and not to use any of the guides. The list will be posted shortly.....

From the kids perspective

2008-09-03T19:17:00.001+03:00

Kids, kids, kids - just for the record - we traveled with 9 kids - smallest was one and the eldest thirteen with following distribution (13/12/9/8/8/5/3/2/1). Hotels often gave us a hard time wanting to charge on a per person basis but if you search around, you get lucky.

Courtesy of Farihah (waiting for input from the others)

What interested us most?

Seeing all the Islamic sites
The interesting mountain shapes and carvings in Madain Saleh & Al-Ula
Seeing the sand-dunes on the way
Seeing so many masjids and going into some with caves (like Salahuddin Masjid in Jerusalem)
Seeing different countries monies and changing money in each country

What bored us or we disliked?

Sitting in the hotel when the ladies went shopping because it was too hot for us
So much of traveling in the car - often slept away.

What we liked most?

Swimming in the ocean (Latakia) - although terrible beach - very rocky floor
Collecting shells
Swimming in the pool in the hotel in Amman
Collecting acorns at Qallat Salahuddin near Latakia

What we liked least?

Often the food was not that tasty, pizza's was fine but the burgers often were not. Thanks for Burger King whenever we could find it.

From the female perspective

2008-09-03T19:14:00.000+03:00

Food
Infant needs
Shopping
Traveling with kids
Praying in Jerusalem (no ladies facilities in Masjid-ul-Aqsa for Jummah - only Dome and outside).

When Her Excellency gets time, she will add her two cents...

Tartus, Syria

2008-09-03T10:45:00.000+03:00

Tartus

Tartus is the second largest port city on the Syrian coast after Latakia and largest city in Tartus Governorate with an estimated population of 93,000 inhabitants as of 2007.^[1] The majority of the population is ethnic Levantine Arab. However, there are about 3,000 people of Greek origin who reside mainly in the town of Al Hamidiyah just south of Tartus.^[2]
Since the start of the Iraqi War, a few thousands Iraqi nationals now reside in Tartus.

In 1123 the Crusaders built the church of Our Lady of Tortosa upon this site. It now houses this altar and has received many pilgrims. The Cathedral itself was used as a mosque after the Muslim reconquest of the city, then as a barracks by the Ottomans. It was renovated under the French and is now the city museum, containing antiquities recovered from Amrit and many other sites in the region. Nur ad-Din retrieved Tartus from the Crusaders for a brief time before it was lost again. In 1152, Tortosa was handed to the Knights Templar, who used it as a military headquarters. They engaged in some major building projects, constructing a castle with a large chapel and an elaborate keep, surrounded by thick double concentric walls.^[6] The Templars' mission was to protect the city and surrounding lands, some of which had been occupied by Christian settlers, from Muslim attack. The city of Tortosa was recaptured by Saladin in 1188, and the main Templar headquarters relocated to Cyprus. However, in Tortosa, some Templars were able to retreat into the keep, which they continued to use as a base for the next 100 years. They steadily added to its fortifications until it also fell, in 1291. Tortosa was the last outpost of the Templars on the Syrian mainland, after which they retreated to a garrison on the nearby island of Arwad, which they kept for another decade.

Qal’at Salahuddin, Latakia-Syria

2008-08-31T12:59:00.008+03:00

About Latakia

Latakia - Is Syria’s main sea-port on the Mediterranean. It lies 186 km southwest of Aleppo, 348 km northwest of Damascus. It has retained its importance since ancient times.

Though there is evidence to suggest continuous settlement here stretching back to 1000 BC, Latakia only came to prominence in the wake of Alexander the Great's conquest, when is was transformed into a major city of the Seleucid empire. Renamed in honour of Loadicea, the mother of Alexander the Great's general Seleucus I Nicator, it developed into an important port and becoming the main supplier of wine to the Hellenistic period. The town was briefly declared capital of Syria in the late second century AD by Septimius Severus. Devastating earthquakes in 494 and 555 badly damaged Latakia, but was rebuilt by Justinian before being seized by the invading Arab army in 638. After being captured by the Crusaders in 1097, the town oscillated between Muslim and Christian control for nearly a century, until it was retaken by Saladin in 1188.

Some attractions in the city include a museum, that was an old Ottoman khan which served as the governor's residence during the French mandate. The museum houses some interesting examples of pottery, glassware, clay tablets from nearby Ugarit, and contemporary paintings. Another attraction to the city is a Roman gateway (Tetraparticus) that consists of four columns.

The Syrian seashore is about 182 km long and its numerous beaches are distinguished by soft sand, unpolluted sea, moderate climate and clear blue skies. The Blue Beach of Latakia is the most popular beach on the Eastern Mediterranean. Water-skiing, jet-skiing, and windsurfing are popular activities in this resort town. Nearby are two hotels, the Cham Cote d'Azur Hotel and Lé Merdien Latakia Hotel.

The Syrian coast consists of long stretches of beaches and green mountains. These mountains are mostly covered with pine and oak trees, and their slopes touch the shore. This landscape repeats itself from Ras Al-Basit in the north to Tartus in the south. On the mountains, villages and towns are scattered, with springs of clear mineral water.

Surrounding attractions, include Ugarit at Ras Shamra, Qalaat Saladin - a formidable castle that has been well preserved, Slunfeh, Kassab and Ras al-Bassit.

Salahuddin's Castle

The Citadel of Salah Ed-Din (once known as Saone, also known as Salahuddin Castle) is a castle in Syria. It is located 30 km east of Latakia, in high mountainous terrain, on a ridge between two deep ravines and surrounded by forest.

The castle was built in ancient times, possibly during the Phoenician period (early first millennium BC). The Phoenicians are said to have surrendered it to Alexander the Great about 334 BC. Not much is known about what happened to it between this period and the return of the Byzantines in the 10th century AD. Emperor John I Tzimisces gained control of the place from the Aleppan Hamdanid dynasty, and built the first of its defensive structures. It then fell in the hands of the Crusaders at around the beginning of the 12th century. It is mentioned that in 1119 it was owned by Robert of Saone who was given control of it by Roger, Prince of Antioch. Most of what is evident today was built at this time. The Crusader walls were breached by the armies of Muslim leader Salahuddin in July 1188, and it is from this victory that the castle takes its present name.^[1]. The castle remained in Muslim hands until the times of Egyptian sultans Baybars and Qalawun.

One of the most magnificent features of the fortress is the 28 m deep ditch, which was cut into living rock probably by the Byzantines (it might have been completed by the Crusaders). This ditch, which runs 156 meters along the east side, is 14 to 20 meters wide and has a lonely 28 m high needle to support the drawbridge.

The entrance to the castle is through an entrance on the south side of the fortress. On the right of the entrance is a tower, a bastion built by the Crusaders. There is another a few meters further. There is a cistern for water storage and some stables just next to a massive keep that overlooks the ditch. This keep has walls of 5 m thick and it covers an area of nearly 24 m². Further on to the north is the gate where the drawbridge used to be. Also evident are the Byzantine citadel, located at the center of the fortress, another large cistern, the Crusader tea house, and a Crusader church adjoining one of two Byzantine chapels.

As for the Arab additions to the fortress they include a mosque, which dates back to sultan Qalawun, and a palace, which includes baths with courtyards and Diwans. This has been slightly restored.

To come:- I am having difficulty uploading the main video with 25 minutes footage inside the cave - file too big at 60MB - trying to edit and split into two files and will upload then. Worth a revisit for that footage.

Video 1 - Qal’at Salahuddin

Video 2 - Qal’at Salahuddin

Video 3 - Qal’at Salahuddin

Video 4 - Qal’at Salahuddin - Inside the Castle

Video 5 - Qal’at Salahuddin - More Inside the Castle

Video 6 - Qal’at Salahuddin - Engineering Marvel
See how the constructed free standing arches, the rocks were precision cut at angles so that they locked into each other and would not slide straight down. In this video, you can see how even a broken arch is still suspended in the air and the rocks are not falling down as they are locked by their geometry.

Trip Itinerary, Route, Costs & Tips

2008-08-30T19:17:00.000+03:00

Trip Itinerary and Route

More details will be loaded here in due course but since this Hejaz Railway map so closely mirrored our route - I thought it would be apt to use it.

I departed from Jeddah to Madina and joined my brother there. We made Salam and prayed two-rakat at Masjid Nabawi before heading off.

Where the map shows Hadayya-in that region (150km from Madina) is a town of Khaybar which was occupied by the Jews in the time of our Beloved Prophet (Sallallahu-Alyhi-Wasallam).

Thereafter to Al-Ula and then Madain Saleh onward to Tabuk. From Tabuk, we diverted to the coast and toward Gulf of Aqaba on the way to Jordan.

From Aqaba- we headed headed to Amman, Jordan for a few days. Onwards to Damascus, Tartus, Homs, Latarkia to Halab/Aleppo back to Damascus and Amman, Jordan en-route to Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, it was straight drive through the Occupiers border, into and out of Jordan and into Saudi Arabia. Departing early from Jerusalem, we reached Tabuk by nightfall and then headed out early after Fajr to Madina for Zuhr and made it to Makkah for Maghreb.

Total duration of trip - 20 days
Total distance covered - 6'000 Km (excl Jerusalem - cars parked in Jordan)
Total cost per family- around US$5,000 including fuel, food, accommodation, visa - the whole lot.
Hotel cost - Alula (US$50 per night)
Hotel cost - Tabuk (US$50-75 per night)
Hotel cost - Amman, Jordan (US$75 per night)
Hotel Cost - Damascus, Syria (US$70 per night)
Hotel cost - Aleppo, Syria ($100 per night)
Hotel cost - Jerusalem, Palestine ($175 per night)
Fuel in Jordan and Syria is much more expensive than Saudi Arabia
Jordan has JD5 exit tax per person,
JD 20 car entry tax and mandatory vehicle insurance JD12-JD20 each time you enter by car - important factor that in when planning travel route as we exited Jordan to Syria/Jerusalem & Saudi (3 times - therefor JD240 for two cars for entry).
Servicing a car in Jordan is very expensive - a simple oil change costed JD60 for a GMC Acadia. Rather do any maintenance in Saudi Arabia before crossing the border or in Damascus (normal service on Toyota Prado costed US$60)
Syria also has mandatory insurance and exit tax of SYP200 per person (US$6)
The Zionist Occupiers (if you can get in) charge US$50 exit tax PER PERSON and the cost of the car from Amman to border is JD20, JD5 per person to get across to Zionist border and then from the other side to Jerusalem is US$100 per car for 30 minute ride.
Hotels

Jordan Hotel - Dana Plaza Hotel
Damascus Hotel - Europe Hotel (salamhotel@mail2world.com)
Latakia Hotel - Stayed in seaside 3-bedroom Villa (US$200 per night)
Aleppo Hotel - Riga Palace Hotel
Jerusalem - Holy Land Hotel http://www.holylandhotel.com

Q: How did we get visas to Palestine?
A: Alhumdulillah, South African passport holders do NOT require visas from the Zionist Occupiers and are able to obtain entry at the border.

Q: Which route did we take to get to Palestine?
A: From Amman, Jordan - it is a 40 minute drive (JD20) to the King Hussein Bridge Border crossing into Palestine.

Q: What is the procedure for crossing the border?
A: Long story:-

At the King Hussein border crossing, luggage scanned and clear Jordan customs, security and immigration control
Be sure to remind Jordan immigration not to stamp your passport that you exited at that point as this will be a sure giveaway that you visited Zionist Occupiers and this will barr you from Makkah and most Muslim lands
A secure bus takes you from King Hussein terminal through no-mans-land towards the Zionist Occupiers border of Al-Quds Palestine. Cost is JD5 per person plus they charge for luggage as well.
Tip - pack light to prevent unnecessary searching and questions. DO NOT CARRY ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO - LEAVE STUFF IN STORAGE AT HOTEL IN JORDAN
South Africans join the VIP queue at the immigration in the border
Be sure to tell the officer NOT to stamp your passport - they will definitely ask why - perfectly acceptable to tell them that you wish to visit Saudi on pilgrimage and their stamp will bar you access.
Be very polite - (they are also now more pleasant than 10 years ago when they kept me and my wife for 8 hours searching and questioning - the same happened to Moosa as well a year before that and they even stripped his electronic equipment).
Aside from the crowds and queues (2 hours) - it took us another hour and we were out
Once inside Palestine - expect costs to SOARRR
Cost of car for 30 minute ride to Jerusalem is $75 and for a 10-seater van $120.
Do not be too adventurous like us - we did not book the hotels in advance and scouted for it at all stops.

Homs, Syria

2008-08-30T14:14:00.003+03:00

The Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Mosque (take the name of the leader Khaled Bin Al-Walid who lived in Homs for the last seven years of his life), this building is distinguished by its metal dome which reflects sunshine. It is also famous for its two high minarets and narrow galleries built with black and white stones in a horizontal manner.

Damascus

2008-08-30T14:13:00.012+03:00

Damascus (Arabic: دمشق‎, transliteration: Dimashq, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (see section: Ancient history), before Al Fayyum, and Gaziantep. Its current population is estimated at about 1.67 million. The city is a governorate by itself, and the capital of the governorate of Rif Dimashq

(Rural Damascus).

Damascus was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate forces in 634 A.D. Immediately thereafter, the city's power and prestige reached its peak when it became the capital of the Umayyad Empire, which extended from Spain to India from 661 to 750. In 744, the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, moved the capital to Harran in the Jazira,^[3] and Damascus was never to regain the political prominence it had held in that period.

After the fall of the Umayyads and the establishment of the Abbasid caliphate in 750, Damascus was ruled from Baghdad, although in 858 al-Mutawakkil briefly established his residence there with the intention of transferring his capital there from Samarra. However, he soon abandoned the idea. As the Abbasid caliphate declined, Damascus suffered from the prevailing instability, and came under the control of local dynasties. In 875 the ruler of Egypt, Ahmad ibn Tulun, took the city, with Abbasid control being re-established only in 905. In 945 the Hamdanids took Damascus, and not long after it passed into the hands of Muhammad bin Tughj, founder of the Ikhshidid dynasty. In 968 and again in 971 the city was briefly captured by the Qaramita.

Fatimids, the Crusades and the Seljuks

In 970, the Fatimid Caliphs in Cairo gained control of Damascus. This was to usher in a turbulent period in the city's history, as the Berber troops who formed the backbone of the Fatimid forces became deeply unpopular among its citizens. The presence in Syria of the Qaramita and occasionally of Turkish military bands added to the constant pressure from the Bedouin. For a brief period from 978, Damascus was self-governing, under the leadership of a certain Qassam and protected by a citizen militia. However, the Ghouta was ravaged by the Bedouin and after a Turkish-led campaign the city once again surrendered to Fatimid rule. From 1029 to 1041 the Turkish military leader Anushtakin was governor of Damascus under the Fatimid caliph Al-Zahir, and did much to restore the city's prosperity.

It appears that during this period the slow transformation of Damascus from a Graeco-Roman city layout - characterised by blocks of insulae — to a more familiar Islamic pattern took place: the grid of straight streets changed to a pattern of narrow streets, with most residents living inside harat closed off at night by heavy wooden gates to protect against criminals and the exactions of the soldiery.

With the arrival of the Seljuk Turks in the late 11th century, Damascus again became the capital of independent states. It was ruled by a Seljuk dynasty from 1079 to 1104, and then by another Turkish dynasty - the Burid Emirs, who withstood a siege of the city during the Second Crusade in 1148 . In 1154 Damascus was conquered from the Burids by the famous Zengid Atabeg Nur ad-Din of Aleppo, the great foe of the Crusaders. He made it his capital, and following his death, it was acquired by Saladin, the ruler of Egypt, who also made it his capital. Saladin rebuilt the citadel, and it is reported that under his rule the suburbs were as extensive as the city itself. It is reported by Ibn Jubayr that during the time of Saladin, Damascus welcomed seekers of knowledge and industrious youth from around the world, who arrived for the sake of "undistracted study and seclusion" in Damascus' many colleges.

In the years following Saladin's death in 1193, there were frequent conflicts between different Ayyubid sultans ruling in Damascus and Cairo. Damascus was the capital of independent Ayyubid rulers between 1193 and 1201, from 1218 to 1238, from 1239 to 1245, and from 1250 to 1260. At other times it was ruled by the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt. Damascus steel gained a legendary reputation among the Crusaders, and patterned steel is still "damascened". The patterned Byzantine and Chinese silks available through Damascus, one of the Western termini of the Silk Road, gave the English language "damask".

Mamluk rule

Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, and following the Mongol defeat at Ain Jalut in the same year, Damascus became a provincial capital of the Mamluk Empire, ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal.

Timurlane

In 1400 Timur, the Turco-Mongol conqueror, besieged Damascus. The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including Ibn Khaldun, who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal he put the city to sack. The Umayyad Mosque was burnt and men and women taken into slavery. A huge number of the city's artisans were taken to Timur's capital at Samarkand. These were the luckier citizens: many were slaughtered and their heads piled up in a field outside the north-east corner of the walls, where a city square still bears the name burj al-ruus, originally "the tower of heads".

Rebuilt, Damascus continued to serve as a Mamluk provincial capital until 1516 .

The Ottoman conquest

In early 1516, the Ottoman Turks, wary of the danger of an alliance between the Mamluks and the Persian Safavids, started a campaign of conquest against the Mamluk sultanate. On 21 September, the Mamluk governor of Damascus fled the city, and on 2 October the khutba in the Umayyad mosque was pronounced in the name of Selim I. The day after, the victorious sultan entered the city, staying for three months. On 15 December, he left Damascus by Bab al-Jabiya, intent on the conquest of Egypt. Little appeared to have changed in the city: one army had simply replaced another. However, on his return in October 1517, the sultan ordered the construction of a mosque, taqiyya and mausoleum at the shrine of Shaikh Muhi al-Din ibn Arabi in Salihiyya. This was to be the first of Damascus' great Ottoman monuments.

The Ottomans remained for the next 400 years, except for a brief occupation by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt from 1832 to 1840 . Because of its importance as the point of departure for one of the two great Hajj caravans to Mecca, Damascus was treated with more attention by the Porte than its size might have warranted — for most of this period, Aleppo was more populous and commercially more important. In 1560 the Taqiyya al-Sulaimaniyya, a mosque and khan for pilgrims on the road to Mecca, was completed to a design by the famous Ottoman architect Sinan, and soon afterwards a madrasa was built adjoining it.

Rise of Arab nationalism

In the early years of the twentieth century, nationalist sentiment in Damascus, initially cultural in its interest, began to take a political colouring, largely in reaction to the turkicisation programme of the Committee of Union and Progress government established in Istanbul in 1908 . The hanging of a number of patriotic intellectuals by Jamal Pasha, governor of Damascus, in Beirut and Damascus in 1915 and 1916 further stoked nationalist feeling, and in 1918, as the forces of the Arab Revolt and the British army approached, residents fired on the retreating Turkish troops.

Modern

On 1 October 1918, the forces of the Arab revolt led by Nuri as-Said entered Damascus. The same day, Australian soldiers from the 4th and 10th Light Horse Regiments reinforced with detachments from the British Yeomanry Mounted Division entered the city and accepted its surrender from the Turkish appointed Governor Emir Said (installed as Governor the previous afternoon by the retreating Turkish Commander)[1][2]. A military government under Shukri Pasha was named. Other British forces including T. E. Lawrence followed later that day, and Faisal ibn Hussein was proclaimed king of Syria. Political tension rose in November 1917, when the new Bolshevik government in Russia revealed the Sykes-Picot Agreement whereby Britain and France had arranged to partition the Arab east between them. A new Franco-British proclamation on 17 November promised the "complete and definitive freeing of the peoples so long oppressed by the Turks." The Syrian Congress in March adopted a democratic constitution. However, the Versailles Conference had granted France a mandate over Syria, and in 1920 a French army commanded by the General Mariano Goybet crossed the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, defeated a small Syrian defensive expedition at the Battle of Maysalun and entered Damascus. The French made Damascus capital of their League of Nations Mandate of Syria.

When in 1925 the Druze revolt in the Hauran spread to Damascus, the French suppressed it brutally, bombing and shelling the city. The area of the old city between Souk al-Hamidiyya and Souk Midhat Pasha was burned to the ground, with many deaths, and has since then been known as al-Hariqa ("the fire"). The old city was surrounded with barbed wire to prevent rebels infiltrating from the Ghouta, and a new road was built outside the northern ramparts to facilitate the movement of armoured cars.

On 21 June 1941, Damascus was captured from the Vichy French forces by the Allies during the Syria-Lebanon campaign.

In 1945 the French once more bombed Damascus, but on this occasion British forces intervened and the French agreed to withdraw, thus leading to the full independence of Syria in 1946 . Damascus remained the capital. With the influx of Iraqi refugees beginning in 2003, and funds from the Arabian Gulf, Damascus has been going through an economic boom ever since.

Drive through exiting from Old City of Damascus after Salatul Jummah. Towards the end of the video, Masjid of Sahabah Abu Darda (R.A) can be seen.

Hejaz Railway

2008-08-30T05:34:00.000+03:00

The Hejaz Railway was a narrow gauge railway (105 cm) that ran from Damascus to Medina, through the Hejaz region of Arabia, with a branch line to Haifa, Palestine, on the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a part of the Ottoman railway network and was built in order to extend the previously existing line between Istanbul and Damascus (which began from the Haydarpaşa Terminal) all the way to the holy city of Mecca (eventually being able to reach only Medina due to the interruption of the construction works caused by the outbreak of World War I).

The main purpose of the Hejaz Railway was to establish a connection between Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the seat of the Islamic Caliphate, and Hejaz in Arabia, the site of the holiest shrines of Islam and the holy city of Mecca, which is the yearly pilgrimage destination of the Hajj. Another important reason was to improve the economic and political integration of the distant Arabian provinces into the Ottoman state, and to facilitate the transportation of military troops in case of need.

The railway is remarkable both for having had no debt when completed and for having many miles of track below sea-level.

Hejaz Station in Damascus, the starting point of the railroad. Extension of the existing line from Turkey to Damascus to link Turkey to Medina.

The map of the railroad (and pretty much our travel route also)

Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia

2008-08-29T15:26:00.002+03:00

Al-Ula

The Al-`Ula oasis (also Al Ola, Arabic العلا al-ʿulā; Biblical Dedan), some 110 km southwest of Tayma (380 km north of Medina) in northwestern Arabia was located at the incense route.

It was the capital of the ancient Lihyanites (Dedanites). It is well known for archaeological remnants, some over 2000 years old. The spectacular scenery is starting to draw in visitors but the tourism infrastructure is still relatively under-developed.

Scenery 1

Remnants of Old City

A closer look

Drive by:-

Another Drive by (wind noise so turn volume down)

Madain Saleh, Saudi Arabia

2008-08-29T14:54:00.000+03:00

Prophet Saleh

His Time:
The exact time period when Prophet Saleh (also spelled “Salih”) preached is unknown. It is believed that he came approximately 200 years after Prophet Hud. The carved stone buildings which form much of the archaeological site in Saudi Arabia (see below) date to approximately 100 B.C. to 100 A.D. Other sources place Saleh’s story closer to 500 B.C.
His Place: Saleh and his people lived in an area known as Al-Hajr, which was located along the trade route from southern Arabia to Syria. The city of “Madain Saleh,” several hundred kilometers north of Madinah in modern-day Saudi Arabia, is named for him and is reported to be the location of the city in which he lived and preached. The archaeological site there consists of habitations carved into stone cliffs, in the same Nabataean style as in Petra, Jordan.

His People:
Saleh was sent to an Arab tribe called Thamud, who were related to and successors of another Arab tribe known as ‘Ad. The Thamud were also reported to be descendants of the Prophet Nuh. They were vain people who took great pride in their fertile farmland and grand architecture.

His Message:
Prophet Saleh tried to call his people to the worship of One God, to Whom they should give thanks for all their bounties. He called upon the rich to stop oppressing the poor, and for an end to all mischief and evil.

His Experience:
While some people accepted Saleh, others demanded that he perform a miracle in order to prove his Prophethood. They challenged him to produce for them a camel out of the nearby rocks. Saleh prayed and the miracle took place by Allah’s permission. The camel appeared, lived among them, and gave birth to a calf. Some people thus believed in Saleh’s prophethood, while others continued to reject him. Eventually a group among them plotted to attack and kill the camel, and dared Saleh to have God punish them for it. The people were later destroyed by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

His Story in the Quran:
The story of Saleh is mentioned several times in the Quran. In one passage, his life and message are described as follows (from the Quran chapter 7, verses 73-78):

To the Thamud people was sent Saleh, one of their own brethren. He said, “Oh my people! Worship Allah; there is no other god but Him. Now comes to you a clear sign from your Lord! This camel is a sign for you, so leave her to graze in Allah’s earth, and let her come to no harm, or you will be seized with a horrible punishment.

“And remember how He made you inheritors (of the land) after the ‘Ad people, and gave you habitations in the land. You build for yourselves palaces and castles in open plains, and carve out homes in the mountains. So bring to remembrance the benefits you receive from Allah, and refrain from mischief and evil on the earth.”

The leaders of the arrogant party among his people said to those who were powerless – those among them who believed – “Do you know for sure that Saleh is a messenger from his Lord?” They said, “We do indeed believe in the revelation which has been sent through him.”

The arrogant party said, “For our part, we reject what you believe in.”

Then they hamstrung the camel, and insolently defied the order of their Lord, saying “Oh Saleh! Bring about your threats, if you are truly a messenger of Allah!”

So the earthquake took them unaware, and they lay prostrate in their homes in the morning.

The life of the Prophet Saleh is also described in other passages of the Quran: 11:61-68, 26:141-159, and 27:45-53.

Ahle Kahf, Amman-Jordan

2008-08-29T11:16:00.000+03:00

Ahle Kahf
Surah (Chapter) Al-Kahf (18, "The Cave"), of the Qur'an. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Jews of Medina challenged him to tell them the story of the sleepers knowing that none of the Arabs knew about it. According to tradition, God then sent the angel Gabriel (or Jibreel) to reveal the story to him through Surah Al-Kahf. After hearing it from him, the Jews confirmed that he told the same story they knew.

The Qur'an states that the period of time these sleepers spent in the cave was three hundred years during which the calendar of their people was changed from solar to lunar and, as a result, the period of their sleep has increased to 309 (lunar) years. When they woke up, they had no idea they slept for centuries and thought they only slept a few hours. When they sent one of them to buy food, the coins he used to buy food were out of circulation and drew the attention of the town's people. After the story was widely known, the sleepers died. The Qur'an also mentions a dog along the sleepers, in the 18th verse of the 18th chapter, Surah Al Kahf.

Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them. .

(Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 18)

The ninth verse of Surah Al Kahf touch upon this group's extraordinary situation. As the narrative unfolds, it is seen that their experiences are of an unusual and metaphysical nature. Their entire life is full of miraculous developments. The tenth verse tells us that those young people sought refuge in the cave from the existing oppressive system, which did not allow them to express their views, tell the truth, and call to Allah's religion. Thus, they distanced themselves from their society.

Do you consider that the Companions of the Cave and Ar-Raqim were one of the most remarkable of Our Signs? When the young men took refuge in the cave and said: 'Our Lord, give us mercy directly from You and open the way for us to right guidance in our situation.

(Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 9-10)

So We sealed their ears with sleep in the cave for a number of years. Then We woke them up again so that we might see which of the two groups would better calculate the time they had stayed there.

(Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 11-12)

The reason for this state of sleep was their surrender to fate and peace, because Allah, arranges everything for the benefit of the believers.

The Qur'an also states that the number of sleepers will be known to God, and only a handful of people. It has not been mentioned that there were seven sleepers.

They will say: 'There were three of them, their dog being the fourth.' They will say: 'There were five of them, their dog being the sixth,' guessing at the Unseen. And they will say: 'There were seven of them, their dog being the eighth.' Say: 'My Lord knows best their number. Those who know about them are very few.' So do not enter into any argument concerning them, except in relation to what is clearly known. And do not seek the opinion of any of them regarding them.

(Surat Al Kahf, Qur'an: 22)

The authenticity of of this location is disputed by the existence of other location like this one in Turkey. http://www.kusadasi.biz/historical-places/seven-sleepers.html

Masjid Ahle-Kahf

Ground Water

Petra, Jordan

2008-08-28T23:52:00.000+03:00

Petra

Often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, it is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.

The Treasury monument appears alongside - to learn more about Petra and the Nabtean civilization, click HERE.

Sinai Valley & Wadi Musa, Jordan

2008-08-28T23:14:00.000+03:00

Story of Musa

View over the Sinai Valley

Drive through the area of Petra towards Wadi Musa

Gulf of Aqaba (4 countries)

2008-08-28T17:56:00.000+03:00

Aqaba

Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة‎, Al-ʻAqabah) is a coastal town in the far south of Jordan and Palestine (now under occupation - area called Elat by the Occupiers). It is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport.

Surrounding the Gulf of Aqaba is Aqaba, Jordan; Elat of Palestine; Aqaba of Saudi Arabia as well as the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.

Further South of the Gulf of Aqaba towards Sharm al-Sheikh is the Suez Canal.

Gulf of Aqaba

Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

2008-08-28T13:36:00.000+03:00

Gazwah Tabuk (Masjid & Shuhada Tabuk)

Tabuk Expedition

Shuhada Tabuk

Castle of Tabuk & Water-Well

Date Plantation & Water-Well

Hejaz Railway Station 1, Tabuk

Hejaz Railway Station 2, Tabuk

Khaybar, Saudi Arabia

2008-08-27T20:20:00.002+03:00

The Battle of Khaybar was fought in the year 629 between Muhammad and his followers against the Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar, located 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. According to Muslim sources, the Muslims attacked Jews who, having reached agreement with the Muslims and then broken their word, had barricaded themselves in a fort.^[4]

On the reasons for the attack, William Montgomery Watt notes that the presence of the Banu Nadir in Khaybar, who were inciting hostilities along with neighboring Arab tribes against Muhammad. Contemporary scholar Laura Veccia Vaglieri, while giving full credence to Watt's view, points out other reasons such as Muhammad's raising his prestige among his followers, as well as to capture booty to sustain subsequent conquests. ^[5]^[6]

Khaybar finally surrendered and were allowed to live in the oasis on the condition that they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years until they were finally expelled by caliph Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews served as a precedent for provisions in the Islamic law requiring the exaction of tribute known as jizya from non-Muslims under Muslim rule, and confiscation of land belonging to non-Muslims into the collective property of the Muslim community.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Khaybar 1
(Jewish Village 150km from Madinah)

Khaybar 2

Khaybar 3

Khaybar 4

Khaybar 5

Aleppo/Halab, Syria

2008-08-26T22:21:00.000+03:00

Masjid Amawi (Omayyad) in Halab, Syria (Aleppo)

The Masjid was built by Marwan bin xxx in

Inside of the Masjid Amawi

Inside the Shrine

Authenticity of the beheading of Prophet Zakariyya (AS).
http://www.anwary-islam.com/prophet-story/zak.htm

Haram Al-Quds Jerusalem

2008-08-26T22:09:00.000+03:00

Masjid Qubratus-Sakrah in Jerusalem at night on our arrival.