I was about to fell asleep the night before last night when suddenly Afiq asked "Can you please do me a favour?Follow us to Syria tomorrow"..Initially I hesitated coz I dont have any intention to skip class,but after calculating all the risks I decided to give it a go..
We took off from Irbid at about 9 am yesterday in an MPV comandeered by Abu Mahmood(not the restaurant ok).Members of the contingent include Afiq's mom,dad,uncle,auntie and his little brother who are staying in Irbid for about a week after completing their Umrah.Also with us was Abg Isam,a Malaysian studying in Syria.So here is our(my?) story..
After we spent a considerable time sitting in the MPV which results in the feeling of uneasiness to our gluteus maximus,finally we arrived at the border complex.There were about 3-4 checkpoints at the Jordan and Syrian part of the border respectively.We got stuck for a while at the Jordanian site because total lack of organisation of the Jordanian Custom.I was like the responsible person to settle all this crossing things.So when we were required to get some kind of endorsement on our passports,I queued up at the counter that is supposedly for foreigners.Already the counter is filled with Arabs,and to make the matter worst,when it was my turn the officer told me to go to the counter for Jordanian and queue there.I was really upset with this kind service.So there I queued and settled everything.During the queue,I chatted with one of the Arabs(in Arabic) :
Arab : Why are you queueing here?This is for Jordanians.Go there to the foreigners counter.
Me : I already went there and the officer told me to go here.What is wrong with him?*#&&*^&*!(some arabic word used when you are upset,but not as bad as the f word).That counter supposed to be for foreigners right?
Arab : Yea right.But what the heck,you speak Arabic,therefore you are also an Arab.-End of conversation-.Dang.
The first checkpoint on Syrian soil.
A Proton Wira seen crossing the border to Syria.
We went on sailing smoothly on the flat roads of Syria enjoying the scenery which is considerably better than Jordans'.On the way,in the true style of a tank commander,I spotted 2 Syrian tanks on the road.Without wasting time,I targeted one of them with my Olympus camera from a range of about 800 meters and waited patiently for the MPV to close in the range.Finally,at about 50 meters,I pushed the button,and snapp,the tank was captured permanently on my camera.
The said tank,most likely a T-72.We arrived at Damascus at about 12.30pm and decided to go to the nearest mosque before exploring further.After solat zuhr,we went to Rufaqa' Restaurant for lunch.It is a Malaysian restaurant,and I took rice with rendang basah,which was very very very delicious maa!!
My first shot of Damascus.
Rufaqa' Restaurant.Under the guidance of Abg Isam and his friend Abg Zul,we took a cab and went to Hamidiyeh,which is more or less the old quarter of Damascus.We visited the tomb of Abu Hurairah radhiallah anh,the great Umawi mosque,tomb of Prophet Yahya,a tomb which the head of Saidina Huseein was temporarily placed,tomb of the great Muslim commander Salahuddin,tomb of Sayyidatina Ruqaiyah,the Prophets'(PBUH) granddaughter,and last but not least the tomb of Abu Darda' radhiallah anh.The aunties also had a great time shopping some beautiful table sheets,leather products(I got one leather wallet for free,thanks auntie Nurul!),headscarfs etc etc....
Tomb of Abu Hurairah radhiallah anh
Uncle Fauzi and Auntie Hamdah shopping for some kind of table sheet
The courtyard of Umaiyah Mosque.The white minaret is the place where Imam Mahdi is supposedly to descend,according to qaul
Same courtyard from different angle
Interior decoration at one of the entrace to Umawi Mosque
Tomb of Prophet Yahya alaihissalam(inside the Umawi Mosque)
The place where the head of Saidina Husein rested for a while(also inside the Umawi Mosque)
This piece of wood is a remain of a catapult,used by medieval Muslim Army
At the right is the original tomb of Salahuddin,at the left is nothing but a tomb-like present,given by a German man
Tomb of Sayidatina Ruqaiyah radhiallah anha
One of the many canals made by the Companions of the Prophet(PBUH) radhiallah anhum
Part of old Damascus Botanical Garden
Tomb of Abu Darda'.The Imam is explaining about Abu Darda' and Abg Zul helped to translate it to the rest
Left to right,Tomb of Mufan bin Qadrullah Al-Muqaddisi,a prominent scholar from Baitul Muqaddis,Mahmud As-Sanjaqdar,Ameer(leader) of Hajj during Othmanian time
Part of Old Damascus city wallOur tour ends at about 6 pm.We took the same MPV for the journey home,and we arrived safely at 9 pm.One day is not enough to enjoy the beauty of Dimaysq.I'll definitely make a second and longer trip there.So tired ma,cannot type anymore.So see ya~
Salute,
Shultze
Amat mematuhi peraturan ok,malahan dalam rumah pon pakai helmet
Tengah blaja sungguh2 sbb nak gi Jordan..Snowcap dah Jordan dah haha
GG adelah ketua mafia kelas die ok
Salute!GG and Shasha kat petrosains
Adekah nak ambik screwdriver kat box motor GG?
Dalam kelas time besday party die
Latest Sauber Petronas pit stop crews,GG and Shasha
Lagi pose atas motor biru die
Amat mematuhi peraturan ok,malahan dalam rumah pon pakai helmet
Tengah blaja sungguh2 sbb nak gi Jordan..Snowcap dah Jordan dah haha
GG adelah ketua mafia kelas die ok
Salute!GG and Shasha kat petrosains
Adekah nak ambik screwdriver kat box motor GG?
Dalam kelas time besday party die
Latest Sauber Petronas pit stop crews,GG and Shasha
Lagi pose atas motor biru die
