The Prophet's Mosque, Medina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Well, I am back, sunshine.
14 DAYS. After 14 days of travel and pilgrimage covering (or passing) Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Jericho, Jordan, Medina, Mecca, Jeddah and the Red Sea, your loyal sinner is home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Warm, wet, rainy and humid Malaysia.
I DO APOLOGISE. I must, because I promised to write and blog in my travel. Unfortunately there weren't any convenient (meaning cheap or free) wireless network that I could connect into. The last was KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport), and even then it appears that I have failed to properly upload my writing, about 2 hours before my flight to Amman, Jordan. There I am below, confidently writing my last post more than 2 weeks ago (or so, I thought!)...
. Being away from this blog for so long has made me a little shy of sharing. But I will, for in my travel I have managed to collect copious notes and pictures. And along the way, I made new and interesting friends, both dead and alive. (death and mortality should not stand in the way of a good frienship, I was always taught)
. 
. JERUSALEM, OH JERUSALEM! Never did I contemplate that I would ever reach its crowning hill of olives, prophets and saints. But I did... first though I had to reach Amman, Jordan, and from there take a connecting flight to Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv. From the capital city of Israel it was an hour and a half's bus ride to the Holy City of the Jews, Christians and the Muslims...
. O’ Jerusalem I
I do not want to break your heart,
I want to find your heart.
It is too beautiful too resist, I am not sorry at all.
I am blessed to fall in love with you,
I want to be near you, for as long As God gives me the pleasure.
I am Taufiq, a fool And a sinner,
You are my Jerusalem,
You mean nothing…
And everything to me.
There are many words to write, and many mixed emotions for me to contemplate as I recall these past two weeks. I hope that it will be interesting to you, sunshine, and that you will keep me company as I begin my posting about my pilgrimage which began 21st March 2011 and ended only yesterday, 4th April 2011.
. Pax Taufiqa.
Footnote - Just to avoid any confusion, let me be clear here that the earlier Parts 1 to 8 postings recorded my feelings and reflection prior the actual pilgrimage. Yes, yes... I am a little disorganised. Sorry.
Welcome back! Looking forward to reading all of your new posts. It was a breathtaking pilgrimage - I just know it. I'll be checking in every day, although I imagine it will take awhile to get settled back in. No need to rush!!
ReplyDeleteDear Anon,
ReplyDeleteI was indeed breathless many times through out my travels... oh boy, how i wished i exercised a little before setting off on this trip.
Hehehe.
I am back to work today, and can only thank my partner, Alex and my beautiful staff for holding the fort while me and Ariffin was away on this pilgrimage, which is a first for me.
The writing on the umrah will take time, as my notes are spread across a little black book i carried along with me, my sms-es to Heche, draft sms-es which were never sent and pictures taken in both my phone and camera, of scenes and people which words simply cannot describe.
Its nice to be back, but when I hold the rosary beads given to me by Arjuna (a companion traveller), I get all wistful of the sands of Arabia and Palestine-Israel.
Pax Taufiqa.