Assalamualaikum W.B.T (peace be upon you)
When becoming humiliated, remember the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in Ta’if.
When being starved, remember the Prophet (Peace be upon him) tying two stones to his stomach in the battle of Khandaq.
When becoming angry, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) control of anger on the martyrdom of his beloved Uncle Hamza.
When losing a tooth, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) tooth in the battle of Uhud.
When bleeding from any part of the body, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) body covered in blood on his return from Ta’if.
When feeling lonely, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) seclusion in Mount Hira .
When feeling tired in Salaat, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) blessed feet in Tahajjud.
When being prickled with thorns, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) pain from Abu Lahab’s wife.
When being troubled by neighbours, remember the old woman who would empty rubbish on the Prophet (Peace be upon him) .
When losing a child, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) son, Ibrahim.
When beginning a long journey, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) long journey to Madinah.
When going against a Sunnah, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) intercession, (Ummati, Ummati, Ummati) (My Ummah).
When sacrificing an animal, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) sacrifice of 63 animals for his Ummah.
Before shaving your beard, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) face rejecting the two beardless Iranians.
When falling into an argument with your wife, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) encounter with Aisha and Hafsa.
When experiencing less food in the house, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) days of poverty.
When experiencing poverty, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) advice to Ashaab-e-Suffa (People of Suffa).
When losing a family member, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) departure from this world.
When becoming an orphan, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) age at six
When sponsoring an orphan, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) sponsor for Zaid ibn Haritha.
When fearing an enemy, remember the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) saying to Abu Bakr in Mount Thour.
Whatever situation you may find yourself in, remember your role model, the best of creation: Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Whatever situation you may find yourself in, remember your role model, the best of creation: Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
credit to my friend's friend.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Proud to be one of them.
Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)
March is back again. In Japan, March is a very significant month to all student, regardless of level of study. Whether you are a college students or a high school student, like it or not, this month is the farewell month for them. Students graduate in this month. Masa ni jugaklah banyak lagu2 di jepun yang bertemakan "graduation". Ramai kan japanese wannabes kat luar sana. So, tak payah la aku mention lagu2 tu.
Frankly speaking, this entry I dedicate to my respected seniors who have just graduated after 4 years striving in Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan's version for MIT. kidding.
As I browse one of my seniors facebook, I stumbled on a photo where new freshies from Malaysia, the graduated senior and almost all Malaysian from my college assembled for snaps of photos. The photo was taken at the New Chitose Airport, one of the gate to Hokkaido, Japan. The photo caption reads, "Proud to be one of them" really gives me a goosebumps. Aku rasa bangga dengan universiti aku tiba2 je. Walaupun takde apa sangat kat Muroran ni. We were fetching the new 'kohais' (juniors) scheduled to arrive from Tokyo. We were all excited to welcome them here. 5 graduated, 6 new freshies will continue fight in this foreign and new country, far different from our motherland.
"Proud to be one of them"
Ramai senior2 aku yang baik. Bertepuk tampar tu perkara biasa. ok, aku tipu. Berani sangat ke aku nak tampar2 senior? Kami bergurau, keluar makan, keluar berjalan bersama2. Itulah kelebihan student2 malaysia di Muroran. Junior rapat dengan senior. Sangat rapat. We care each other. Senior takde masalah tolong masakkan untuk kouhai, of course bukan selalu. compare to other university in other part of japan, hubungan senior-junior terasa ada jurangnya. Ramai yang terperanjat dan kagum dengan keakraban antara senior dan junior di Muroran ni. Ada yang dah berkeluarga, but still sporting macam orang muda, belia I mean. Ada yang tahu serba-serbi tentang kereta dan komputer, ada yang kaki TV, ada yang alim (tapi selalu kena pangkah dengan orang lain) dan macam2 lagi jenis orang di Muroran ni. Whoever they are, I respect them all.
Friendship and respect goes along. You won't get a friend if you don't show any respect. For my seniors, good luck and lead a good and cheerful life in Malaysia. Pray for our success and may we meet again somewhere, sometime in our beloved country Malaysia.
It's true, a lot of people come and go in our life, but it's hard to find a good friend. I'm not a sentimental type, but I'm the kind who appreciates friendship very much. Aku memang suka ingat tarikh lahir orang. Tapi aku tak wish orang camni, "happy BUFday". No, I'm not that kind of bajet2 manja nak wish orang. Susahkan nak taip BIRTHday betul2? Panjang sangat la ayang.... Memang sedih masa menghantar mereka balik di airport. Aku memang tak suka nak berpisah dengan orang yang aku rapat. I hate that feeling, tapi Allah dah janji. Antara 7 golongan yang akan mendapat naungan Allah di padang mahsyar kelak ialah manusia yang bertemu dan berpisah kerana Allah. What does that mean? Go make friends! Life is better with friends around don't you think?
"Proud to be one of them". I won't stop and will carry this pride as Muroranians. Won't feel shy to say them countless time.
I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.
p/s: Teringat satu babak dalam sebuah drama Jepun, Love Shuffle. Ada 3 P yang penting dalam hidup manusia; PEOPLE, pet and plant (trees etc). ohh, hampir terlupa. Pakcik kat atas tu bukan idola aku.
March is back again. In Japan, March is a very significant month to all student, regardless of level of study. Whether you are a college students or a high school student, like it or not, this month is the farewell month for them. Students graduate in this month. Masa ni jugaklah banyak lagu2 di jepun yang bertemakan "graduation". Ramai kan japanese wannabes kat luar sana. So, tak payah la aku mention lagu2 tu.
Frankly speaking, this entry I dedicate to my respected seniors who have just graduated after 4 years striving in Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan's version for MIT. kidding.
As I browse one of my seniors facebook, I stumbled on a photo where new freshies from Malaysia, the graduated senior and almost all Malaysian from my college assembled for snaps of photos. The photo was taken at the New Chitose Airport, one of the gate to Hokkaido, Japan. The photo caption reads, "Proud to be one of them" really gives me a goosebumps. Aku rasa bangga dengan universiti aku tiba2 je. Walaupun takde apa sangat kat Muroran ni. We were fetching the new 'kohais' (juniors) scheduled to arrive from Tokyo. We were all excited to welcome them here. 5 graduated, 6 new freshies will continue fight in this foreign and new country, far different from our motherland.
"Proud to be one of them"Ramai senior2 aku yang baik. Bertepuk tampar tu perkara biasa. ok, aku tipu. Berani sangat ke aku nak tampar2 senior? Kami bergurau, keluar makan, keluar berjalan bersama2. Itulah kelebihan student2 malaysia di Muroran. Junior rapat dengan senior. Sangat rapat. We care each other. Senior takde masalah tolong masakkan untuk kouhai, of course bukan selalu. compare to other university in other part of japan, hubungan senior-junior terasa ada jurangnya. Ramai yang terperanjat dan kagum dengan keakraban antara senior dan junior di Muroran ni. Ada yang dah berkeluarga, but still sporting macam orang muda, belia I mean. Ada yang tahu serba-serbi tentang kereta dan komputer, ada yang kaki TV, ada yang alim (tapi selalu kena pangkah dengan orang lain) dan macam2 lagi jenis orang di Muroran ni. Whoever they are, I respect them all.
Friendship and respect goes along. You won't get a friend if you don't show any respect. For my seniors, good luck and lead a good and cheerful life in Malaysia. Pray for our success and may we meet again somewhere, sometime in our beloved country Malaysia.
It's true, a lot of people come and go in our life, but it's hard to find a good friend. I'm not a sentimental type, but I'm the kind who appreciates friendship very much. Aku memang suka ingat tarikh lahir orang. Tapi aku tak wish orang camni, "happy BUFday". No, I'm not that kind of bajet2 manja nak wish orang. Susahkan nak taip BIRTHday betul2? Panjang sangat la ayang.... Memang sedih masa menghantar mereka balik di airport. Aku memang tak suka nak berpisah dengan orang yang aku rapat. I hate that feeling, tapi Allah dah janji. Antara 7 golongan yang akan mendapat naungan Allah di padang mahsyar kelak ialah manusia yang bertemu dan berpisah kerana Allah. What does that mean? Go make friends! Life is better with friends around don't you think?
"Proud to be one of them". I won't stop and will carry this pride as Muroranians. Won't feel shy to say them countless time.
I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. - Charles R. Swindoll
p/s: Teringat satu babak dalam sebuah drama Jepun, Love Shuffle. Ada 3 P yang penting dalam hidup manusia; PEOPLE, pet and plant (trees etc). ohh, hampir terlupa. Pakcik kat atas tu bukan idola aku.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I survived in Turkey!! part 2
Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)
12 Mac
Today's journey will be a long one, traveling from Izmir to Ephesus (locally known as Efes). To get there, I simply went to Otogar in Izmir, where I stopped last night and take a minibus shuttle service to Ephesus. At Otogar there are 2 main sections which is minibus (or dolmuc) for the city and the minibuses or buses for other city or region. For Ephesus, go to the second section of Otogar and look for minibuses with the signboard "Izmir-Selcuk(Efes)". Pay 7TL and enjoy your journey for about 1hour and a half. Before going to Ephesus, I had a simple conversation with a pakcik that help me to show my minibus to Ephesus.
"Where are you come from?"
"Malezya (Turkish language for Malaysia)"
"You're a Muslim?"
"Yes, I'm a Muslim."
"Alhamdulillah. Why are you going to Ephesus?"
"For a vacation and sightseeing."
"You're a Muslim. You should go to Mecca, not Ephesus", he said with a laugh.
"Yes, but I'm a student. No much money. Maybe I'll go there later", I replied. Walaupun sebenarnya dah tak tahu nak balas apa. Segan sendiri.
Why I stressed on the above conversation, I tell you later.
As you arrived at Selcuk Otogar, head to the main T-junction, cross the road and you'll see the Tourist Information Center. I get a map and some advices from the staff and quickly headed to my first destination of the day, Isa Bey mosque. The mosque still functions as a mosque. After paying visit at the mosque, I then made my move to a castle-like ruins on top of the hill, just next to the mosque. It was the site of ruins of Basilica of St.John. The admission fee is 5TL. There's not much to see at the site. Ruins. Just blocks of big stones, with cross and Latin words carved on it. According to history and legend in Christianity, this place plays a significant role in Christianity as it once a location for Christian pilgrimage during the medieval time. If Muslim go to Mecca for the pilgrimage, the Christians go to Ephesus for pilgrimage. Now I know, why the pakcik back there in Izmir told me "why don't you go to Mecca". Malu kan?..... Memang malu.
On top of the hill, inside the castle
After the site, I went to the castle on top of the hill nearby. I was greeted by a local young man who offered me for a guide to the castle. Pengalaman di Egypt memang banyak mengajar aku supaya tak mudah ditipu. We went to the castle by an unusual route, crossing the fence and through the bushes and steep rocks. Memang penat. Dahlah bawak beg kat belakang, dengan beg kamera lagi....Lepas 10 minit mendaki (Yes, I climbed the hill), sampai jugak akhirnya ke kawasan the so-called castle. From outside, yes it looks like a medieval castle with walls surrounding the area. Inside, just ruins of hamams, some caves and mosques on top of the hill. From the site, I enjoyed the breath-taking panorama of the Selcuk town. Memang berbaloi lah bayar 30TL kat tour-guide tak rasmi aku tu. Penat mendaki bukit pun rasa hilang. The surrounding itself and the ruins is very photogenic. Spent almost half an hour there and we went down back.
At the House of Maryam (Peace be upon her)
The next destination, the House of the Virgin Mary (Maryam A.S in Islam) on Mount Koressos, Ephesus. It is said that the Virgin Mary (Peace be upon her) spent her last time on earth there. There are currently only taxi and private charter car available to bring you to the top. No cheap transportation (dolmuş pronounced DOLE-moosh). The distance to the top is aprrox. 8km. You can make a good deal with the taxi driver or the private car driver. There's a small brick hut and a spring flowing inside the compound. Even though I'm a Muslim, I really think there's nothing wrong to go to such place as in Islam, we believe and respect Maryam (Peace be upon her), BUT Muslim never worship her as god. As it's prohibited to take photos inside the house, I can't share with you what I saw inside. Outside, there's an area at the wall where visitors put (tie?) their wishes, just next to the spring. That's it! As promised, my driver will drop me at the Ephesus gate and I'm gonna have to finish exploring the Ephesus by foot. The entrance fee is 20TL. As you walk pass through the gate, you could really feel you're going back into the ancient times. Ruins were scattered all over the place, along your route to the next exit. There's the Roman Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theater, Gate of Augustus and many other ruins being displayed there. There's also a stones, which was once used to tell the distance between ancient cities.
Roman Library of Celsus
The last stop before going back to Otogar was the Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. I thought there would be a big Pantheon-like Greek/Roman temple, with big pillars and whatsoever. As I arrived there, NOTHING! I repeat, NOTHING! There's just one big pillars still standing with big rocks around. The Temple floor turns into a lake. One with clear water, and one with green algae on the surface. That's it? Yes, that's it. Penat je bayar 20TL dari Ephesus kat pakcik teksi. Kalau tahu macam ni la Temple of Artemis, baik tak payah pergi dengan teksi. Jalan kaki pun boleh. Still the place attracts lots of visitors, instead there;s only big rock and a tall pillar there. Sigh~. The day ended with a trip to Pamukkale by minibus from Selcuk Otogar which costs me 2TL.
13 Mac
Selepas hilang penat travel jauh2 semalam, trip hari ni disambung dalam kawasan Pamukkale. Selepas dipujuk dengan kebaikan (tak tahulah dibuat-buat ke) orang Turki, I decided to stay in Pamukkale for 2 days and 3 nights. For the first day, my tour brought me to experience the Turkish style mud bath. Yes, mud. What? Disgusting? Tak lah. The mud for the mud bath is clean and come from natural source. It contains high level of minerals. What minerals is it, don't ask me. Uhhh...magnesium, I think..I was brought to a place (kind of a resort), about 8km from my hotel in Pamukkale. The resort was being managed by a Turkish family. After changing clothes, I was brought inside a chamber. Inside there's an 8 concrete lot on the floor where you'll lie down and the staff will pour the warm (I say it's quite hot) onto your body. Feel it first with your feet. If you think you can carry on, go on. The first time I lied down, it was damn hot at my back. Rasa nak menangis sebab panas. But relax, the hot is just temporary. Your body will soon adapt with the temperature. Spent about 10 to 15 minutes inside, if you can. Then get a quick shower to clean your body from the mud before jump into the pool with the spring water. Although I was given an hour to enjoy all the course, I think I've finished them all in just 40 minutes. Cukup lah. Kepala rasa pening2 lalat. Lagipun, aku nak anak ramai. Faham2 sendirilah maksud aku. Tak faham? Eh sudahlah korang.
Ini bukan gambar angker, tapi aku yang dilumur lumpur (nampak kepala je)
After the Turkish mud bath, I was brought to the ancient Roman city. The entrance fee is 5TL. Lepas keluar dari air panas, badan ni rasa ringan je. Kepala pun rasa berat, mengantuk. The site is on top of a hill overlooking Pamukkale. You can tell which is the town of Pamukkale as you can see the white travertines from the hill. At the site there are two ancient theaters (maybe an Amphitheaters), fountains, Nymphaeum and ancient city gatehouse. The tour took about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to start your tour early in the morning or past noon as it could get really hot over there. Don't forget your sunglasses too. Senang cakap banyak batu la kawasan ni. Actually, the whole ancient city, the monuments or other ruins are still waiting to be excavated. It is believed that the most parts of the city were buried underground. Maybe when they find and unearth more ruins, the admission fees will go higher.
The ancient city, Laodicea
12 Mac
Today's journey will be a long one, traveling from Izmir to Ephesus (locally known as Efes). To get there, I simply went to Otogar in Izmir, where I stopped last night and take a minibus shuttle service to Ephesus. At Otogar there are 2 main sections which is minibus (or dolmuc) for the city and the minibuses or buses for other city or region. For Ephesus, go to the second section of Otogar and look for minibuses with the signboard "Izmir-Selcuk(Efes)". Pay 7TL and enjoy your journey for about 1hour and a half. Before going to Ephesus, I had a simple conversation with a pakcik that help me to show my minibus to Ephesus.
"Where are you come from?"
"Malezya (Turkish language for Malaysia)"
"You're a Muslim?"
"Yes, I'm a Muslim."
"Alhamdulillah. Why are you going to Ephesus?"
"For a vacation and sightseeing."
"You're a Muslim. You should go to Mecca, not Ephesus", he said with a laugh.
"Yes, but I'm a student. No much money. Maybe I'll go there later", I replied. Walaupun sebenarnya dah tak tahu nak balas apa. Segan sendiri.
Why I stressed on the above conversation, I tell you later.
As you arrived at Selcuk Otogar, head to the main T-junction, cross the road and you'll see the Tourist Information Center. I get a map and some advices from the staff and quickly headed to my first destination of the day, Isa Bey mosque. The mosque still functions as a mosque. After paying visit at the mosque, I then made my move to a castle-like ruins on top of the hill, just next to the mosque. It was the site of ruins of Basilica of St.John. The admission fee is 5TL. There's not much to see at the site. Ruins. Just blocks of big stones, with cross and Latin words carved on it. According to history and legend in Christianity, this place plays a significant role in Christianity as it once a location for Christian pilgrimage during the medieval time. If Muslim go to Mecca for the pilgrimage, the Christians go to Ephesus for pilgrimage. Now I know, why the pakcik back there in Izmir told me "why don't you go to Mecca". Malu kan?..... Memang malu.
After the site, I went to the castle on top of the hill nearby. I was greeted by a local young man who offered me for a guide to the castle. Pengalaman di Egypt memang banyak mengajar aku supaya tak mudah ditipu. We went to the castle by an unusual route, crossing the fence and through the bushes and steep rocks. Memang penat. Dahlah bawak beg kat belakang, dengan beg kamera lagi....Lepas 10 minit mendaki (Yes, I climbed the hill), sampai jugak akhirnya ke kawasan the so-called castle. From outside, yes it looks like a medieval castle with walls surrounding the area. Inside, just ruins of hamams, some caves and mosques on top of the hill. From the site, I enjoyed the breath-taking panorama of the Selcuk town. Memang berbaloi lah bayar 30TL kat tour-guide tak rasmi aku tu. Penat mendaki bukit pun rasa hilang. The surrounding itself and the ruins is very photogenic. Spent almost half an hour there and we went down back.
The next destination, the House of the Virgin Mary (Maryam A.S in Islam) on Mount Koressos, Ephesus. It is said that the Virgin Mary (Peace be upon her) spent her last time on earth there. There are currently only taxi and private charter car available to bring you to the top. No cheap transportation (dolmuş pronounced DOLE-moosh). The distance to the top is aprrox. 8km. You can make a good deal with the taxi driver or the private car driver. There's a small brick hut and a spring flowing inside the compound. Even though I'm a Muslim, I really think there's nothing wrong to go to such place as in Islam, we believe and respect Maryam (Peace be upon her), BUT Muslim never worship her as god. As it's prohibited to take photos inside the house, I can't share with you what I saw inside. Outside, there's an area at the wall where visitors put (tie?) their wishes, just next to the spring. That's it! As promised, my driver will drop me at the Ephesus gate and I'm gonna have to finish exploring the Ephesus by foot. The entrance fee is 20TL. As you walk pass through the gate, you could really feel you're going back into the ancient times. Ruins were scattered all over the place, along your route to the next exit. There's the Roman Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, Theater, Gate of Augustus and many other ruins being displayed there. There's also a stones, which was once used to tell the distance between ancient cities.
The last stop before going back to Otogar was the Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. I thought there would be a big Pantheon-like Greek/Roman temple, with big pillars and whatsoever. As I arrived there, NOTHING! I repeat, NOTHING! There's just one big pillars still standing with big rocks around. The Temple floor turns into a lake. One with clear water, and one with green algae on the surface. That's it? Yes, that's it. Penat je bayar 20TL dari Ephesus kat pakcik teksi. Kalau tahu macam ni la Temple of Artemis, baik tak payah pergi dengan teksi. Jalan kaki pun boleh. Still the place attracts lots of visitors, instead there;s only big rock and a tall pillar there. Sigh~. The day ended with a trip to Pamukkale by minibus from Selcuk Otogar which costs me 2TL.
13 Mac
Selepas hilang penat travel jauh2 semalam, trip hari ni disambung dalam kawasan Pamukkale. Selepas dipujuk dengan kebaikan (tak tahulah dibuat-buat ke) orang Turki, I decided to stay in Pamukkale for 2 days and 3 nights. For the first day, my tour brought me to experience the Turkish style mud bath. Yes, mud. What? Disgusting? Tak lah. The mud for the mud bath is clean and come from natural source. It contains high level of minerals. What minerals is it, don't ask me. Uhhh...magnesium, I think..I was brought to a place (kind of a resort), about 8km from my hotel in Pamukkale. The resort was being managed by a Turkish family. After changing clothes, I was brought inside a chamber. Inside there's an 8 concrete lot on the floor where you'll lie down and the staff will pour the warm (I say it's quite hot) onto your body. Feel it first with your feet. If you think you can carry on, go on. The first time I lied down, it was damn hot at my back. Rasa nak menangis sebab panas. But relax, the hot is just temporary. Your body will soon adapt with the temperature. Spent about 10 to 15 minutes inside, if you can. Then get a quick shower to clean your body from the mud before jump into the pool with the spring water. Although I was given an hour to enjoy all the course, I think I've finished them all in just 40 minutes. Cukup lah. Kepala rasa pening2 lalat. Lagipun, aku nak anak ramai. Faham2 sendirilah maksud aku. Tak faham? Eh sudahlah korang.
Ini bukan gambar angker, tapi aku yang dilumur lumpur (nampak kepala je)After the Turkish mud bath, I was brought to the ancient Roman city. The entrance fee is 5TL. Lepas keluar dari air panas, badan ni rasa ringan je. Kepala pun rasa berat, mengantuk. The site is on top of a hill overlooking Pamukkale. You can tell which is the town of Pamukkale as you can see the white travertines from the hill. At the site there are two ancient theaters (maybe an Amphitheaters), fountains, Nymphaeum and ancient city gatehouse. The tour took about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to start your tour early in the morning or past noon as it could get really hot over there. Don't forget your sunglasses too. Senang cakap banyak batu la kawasan ni. Actually, the whole ancient city, the monuments or other ruins are still waiting to be excavated. It is believed that the most parts of the city were buried underground. Maybe when they find and unearth more ruins, the admission fees will go higher.
14 Mac
On today's tour, I met a couple from Canada, whom I mistaken them from India. lols. No, this is not racism. With the same tour guide yesterday, we were brought to 'The City of the Dead', the Necropolis. In Necropolis alone, there were about 2,000 tombs and sarcophagus on display and still waiting to be unearthed. kadang2 tu terfikir jugak. Kenapalah kita sekarang sibuk2 melawat tempat orang mati? Padahal bukannya kenal pun siapa diorang. The Necropolis itself is very big, but still it's just at the outskirts of the Hierapolis city. Actually, visiyots can enter in any tombs they want, But I don't enter any since I'm afraid to be infected by disease or something. Who knows the body inside the tomb died because of disease...Karang tak pasal2 berjangkit. Seronok memang la seronok. Buatnya kena penyakit, naya je. After walking for another 400 metres, we arrived at one of the main gatehouse into the city of Hierapolis. The gatehouse is still standing with two towers on left and right for the security of the city, The city's design was considered as great at that time, with the drainage system at the middle, underneath the Main Road, known as Frontinus Street. They even had what we know today as public toilet. It's called the Latrine. The Latrine was divided into 2 chambers, for male and female. At the ruins of Latrine, we can still see the 'sink' and the drain, still preserved from that time. Going further, you'll see another gatehouse. Before passing through it, climb onto a low wall on your left to see the remaining parts and area of the Agora. Agora functioned as a place for trade and even stands gladiator fights inside. You then continue your walk, and as you pass through the gatehouse, you'll see a huge rows of marble pillars on your left. The whole area is known as the Nymphaeum, one of the most important parts of Hierapolis. Hierapolis is a city that really cares on health and sanity of it's people.
Outside the city, you can go for a quite adventurous trail to visit tthe St.Philip's tomb and ruins of his church on the hill. I can only get to see it from afar. We then continue to visit the Theater. The theater was so huge that up to 15,000 people can occupy the seat! It was worth it walking up the hill to see this well preserved theater. At the seat of the theater, you can see a small portion of the seat being carved to let the visitors put their umbrella inside, as it's an open theater.
The Theater
After the theater, we came back down and visit another attraction at the Hierapolis, The Sacred Roman Pool. The pool was dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. Visitors can swim in the pool with a charge of 20TL. As for the depth, an adult's feet can still touch the bottom of the pool with heads above water. The temperature of the water is about 35 degrees hot, so when you come in winter, you can really enjoy the bath. Legend has it that the last legendary person swam here was the legendary Cleopatra. Marc Antony presented the pool to her as a wedding gift. It is said that the water can cure illnesses such as heart disease, eye problems, diarrhoea, skin problem and other diseases.
The Roman Sacred Pool
According to plan, the next visit would be the famous white travertine where visitors can swim in it for free. Unfortunately, it's started to rain, so we just get a chance to see the travertine from the shuttle bus. It's quite disappointing but since there's no water at the travertine at that time, I don't really feel unlucky at all. Eating time is always the best time. My tour includes a lunch buffet at a nearby restaurant where I ate banyak gila. Bukan selalu ada buffet time traveling nih. Apa lagi, full tank laa. My bus to Ankara was scheduled to depart at 00:30. I almost got trapped inside the hotel, because I slept until 22:30 before preparing to check-out. Luckily, there's a staff still left inside. She asked her friend to come and her friend brought me to Denizli Otogar directly. I thought my bus wil depart from Pamukkale. Duh~ I really feel sorry for him. Thousands of thanks from me.
On today's tour, I met a couple from Canada, whom I mistaken them from India. lols. No, this is not racism. With the same tour guide yesterday, we were brought to 'The City of the Dead', the Necropolis. In Necropolis alone, there were about 2,000 tombs and sarcophagus on display and still waiting to be unearthed. kadang2 tu terfikir jugak. Kenapalah kita sekarang sibuk2 melawat tempat orang mati? Padahal bukannya kenal pun siapa diorang. The Necropolis itself is very big, but still it's just at the outskirts of the Hierapolis city. Actually, visiyots can enter in any tombs they want, But I don't enter any since I'm afraid to be infected by disease or something. Who knows the body inside the tomb died because of disease...Karang tak pasal2 berjangkit. Seronok memang la seronok. Buatnya kena penyakit, naya je. After walking for another 400 metres, we arrived at one of the main gatehouse into the city of Hierapolis. The gatehouse is still standing with two towers on left and right for the security of the city, The city's design was considered as great at that time, with the drainage system at the middle, underneath the Main Road, known as Frontinus Street. They even had what we know today as public toilet. It's called the Latrine. The Latrine was divided into 2 chambers, for male and female. At the ruins of Latrine, we can still see the 'sink' and the drain, still preserved from that time. Going further, you'll see another gatehouse. Before passing through it, climb onto a low wall on your left to see the remaining parts and area of the Agora. Agora functioned as a place for trade and even stands gladiator fights inside. You then continue your walk, and as you pass through the gatehouse, you'll see a huge rows of marble pillars on your left. The whole area is known as the Nymphaeum, one of the most important parts of Hierapolis. Hierapolis is a city that really cares on health and sanity of it's people.
Outside the city, you can go for a quite adventurous trail to visit tthe St.Philip's tomb and ruins of his church on the hill. I can only get to see it from afar. We then continue to visit the Theater. The theater was so huge that up to 15,000 people can occupy the seat! It was worth it walking up the hill to see this well preserved theater. At the seat of the theater, you can see a small portion of the seat being carved to let the visitors put their umbrella inside, as it's an open theater.
After the theater, we came back down and visit another attraction at the Hierapolis, The Sacred Roman Pool. The pool was dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. Visitors can swim in the pool with a charge of 20TL. As for the depth, an adult's feet can still touch the bottom of the pool with heads above water. The temperature of the water is about 35 degrees hot, so when you come in winter, you can really enjoy the bath. Legend has it that the last legendary person swam here was the legendary Cleopatra. Marc Antony presented the pool to her as a wedding gift. It is said that the water can cure illnesses such as heart disease, eye problems, diarrhoea, skin problem and other diseases.
According to plan, the next visit would be the famous white travertine where visitors can swim in it for free. Unfortunately, it's started to rain, so we just get a chance to see the travertine from the shuttle bus. It's quite disappointing but since there's no water at the travertine at that time, I don't really feel unlucky at all. Eating time is always the best time. My tour includes a lunch buffet at a nearby restaurant where I ate banyak gila. Bukan selalu ada buffet time traveling nih. Apa lagi, full tank laa. My bus to Ankara was scheduled to depart at 00:30. I almost got trapped inside the hotel, because I slept until 22:30 before preparing to check-out. Luckily, there's a staff still left inside. She asked her friend to come and her friend brought me to Denizli Otogar directly. I thought my bus wil depart from Pamukkale. Duh~ I really feel sorry for him. Thousands of thanks from me.
15 Mac
Arrived in Ankara Otogar, mainly known as ASTi at 7:30 a.m. The weather is still cold. Mulut pun berasap lagi. So, I decided to take shelter in a mosque inside, waiting and hoping for the day to get little warmer. About 8:30 a.m, I started my journey to visit the Hisar, a citadel on a hill at
the heart of Ankara. It was raining, so my trip was a little bit wet and slow. Sampai je kat citadel, tengok2 keliling kejap, lepaskan lelah, ambil nafas...............ok dah. Turun balik. Hujan masalahnya, leceh. Mana nak pegang kamera, pegang payung lagi. Tak menang tangan. On the way back to Metro station, sempat singgah sebentar di Haci Bayram Camii (Haji Bayram Mosque) to pay a visit. Just next to the mosque is the ruins of Temple of Augustus and Rome. Sekali lagi, hanya batu dan tiang yang tinggal. Aku pelik. Lately, makin banyak temple-temple, tak kisah la kristian or pagan yang hendak direconstruct. Padahal sudah terang lagi bersuluh, tempat tersebut bukan untuk menyembah Tuhan yang Esa, Allah S.W.T. Sejarah sekalipun, tak perlulah bersusah payah reconstruct and rebuilt the temples. Near the Haci Bayram Mosque, there's the Column of Julianus, built to commemorate his visit to Ancyra (ancient name for Ankara), in 362 A.D.
The next and last visit in Ankara would be Anitkabir, the memorial complex which houses a mausoleum where the hero of the modern Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal was laid to rest. The memorial complex was so huge as it includes the War and Independence Museum, which I could say the
Turkish National Museum. If you love history and enjoy scenes from battlefield and wars, the museum is a perfect place for you. Inside were vast collections of both national and private belongings of Mustafa Kemal during his time as the first president of Turkey. Of the topic. Disebabkan blog aku ada jugak menyebut tentang Freemason, aku menjadi curious ingin mencari simbol2 atau unsur2 Freemason di Anitkabir. The staircases which leads to the mausoleum have 42 steps, according to the guidebook. I counted it myself. My conclusion, it is actually (33+9) steps before visitors can enter the main hall, where the symbolic sarcophagus of him was put on display. Remember anything significance about the number '33' ? Read here. Plus, inside the main hall was 12 torches (lamp design) at the right and left of the inner wall. Besides, some of the floor colour are black and white checkered floor. Haih~~sorilah, jatuh mood korang nak baca cerita santai kan? Jalan2 di Museum of War and Independence banyak mengajar aku tentang sejarah Turki dan bagaimana terhapusnya sistem Khalifah (Caliphate system) yang selama ini menjadi tunjang dan payung bagi umat Islam. Aku tahu, ramai umat Islam sedih akan kejadian yang berlaku pada 16 Mac 1924, di mana pada tarikh tersebut the caliphate system was constitutionally abolished by it's own nation. Aku bukanlah penyokong Mustafa Kemal, tetapi aku juga tak menyokong percaturan politik Khalifah Uthmaniah dan gaya hidup Sultan2 mereka yang terlalu mewah. Mungkin ada sesetengah Sultan yang benar2 adil memerintah. Kajilah sejarah sebaik mungkin dahulu. That's the last visit before I headed out of Ankara to Istanbul. Again, the bus fare was 20TL.
p/s: Kubur Mustafa Kemal sebenarnya bukanlah sarcophagus tu. Itu hanyalah simbolik sahaja. Kubur sebenarnya terletak betul2 di bawah sarcophagus tersebut. It's not open to the public for security reason. Wallahua'lam.
16 Mac
For the last visit before I left the land of two continents, I take a quick tour around Bosphorus, famously known as Bogaz Tur. The quick tour is advisable for those who is in a rush or have a limited time to explore Istanbul, I recommend the TurYol tour. The tour takes about one hour and a half. There are actually many choices of way to explore the Bosphorus Straist, but most of the tourists would take either the fast and modern TurYol tour, or the classic and more relax Turkish lalalala tour. You can grab a doner (kebab) and aryan (yogurt) with a price of 2.50TL at the hawker stalls nearby before you board the boat. Some guidebooks give advices to come early as it could get very crowded. It's best to take one of the earliest ferries, and to be at the ferry 
dock at least 15 minutes before departure (30 minutes is even better) in order to get in line to board. When boarding begins, passengers near the front of the line can choose the best seats: interior, exterior, upper deck or lower deck, on the sunny side or the shady side, in the bow or the stern.On busy days, it's best not to plan on taking the last or even second-last ferry of the day to return to Istanbul, as these boats fill to capacity (or over-capacity) early in their voyages. You may not be able to board, and if you are able, you may have to stand during the entire voyage in crowded conditions. Luckily in winter, the tourist is not as many as in summer. The only thing you'll have to consider traveling in Turkey during winter is it's unpredictable weather. Most of the time will be raining, but there are some clear weathers too.
After returning to the Galata Bridge at about 13:45 I rushed back to my hostel in Sultanahmet, grabbed my luggages and of to Havalimani (Airport). It's quite sad to leave this country actually. The people, the food, the surroundings is very-very nice. Honestly speaking, for those backpackers out there who loves challenges, and loves to travel alone, Turkey is a destination you have to go at least once. It's quite difficult though to have a conversation because of the language barrier. But with time, you'll think it's quite interesting. Language is a very mystery thing human being have. We can communicate to whatever people we might see in our life. Wheter you know the language fully or little, it doesn't mind. Communicating is a nature for every human being. We can even communicate by using body languages. For this trip, I really learnt a lot on how to communicate with other people, and the most important thing is a simple smile and touch will make other people easier to approach you.
That's all from Turkey. Wish I would have other chances to visit other countries.
Another faces of Turkey...
p/s: It's good to go out there, travel alone. You'll learn something valuable from your trip, I guarantee. You'll learn to know your true nature. To excel in life, we don't refer to textbooks. We explore it on our own.
Arrived in Ankara Otogar, mainly known as ASTi at 7:30 a.m. The weather is still cold. Mulut pun berasap lagi. So, I decided to take shelter in a mosque inside, waiting and hoping for the day to get little warmer. About 8:30 a.m, I started my journey to visit the Hisar, a citadel on a hill at
the heart of Ankara. It was raining, so my trip was a little bit wet and slow. Sampai je kat citadel, tengok2 keliling kejap, lepaskan lelah, ambil nafas...............ok dah. Turun balik. Hujan masalahnya, leceh. Mana nak pegang kamera, pegang payung lagi. Tak menang tangan. On the way back to Metro station, sempat singgah sebentar di Haci Bayram Camii (Haji Bayram Mosque) to pay a visit. Just next to the mosque is the ruins of Temple of Augustus and Rome. Sekali lagi, hanya batu dan tiang yang tinggal. Aku pelik. Lately, makin banyak temple-temple, tak kisah la kristian or pagan yang hendak direconstruct. Padahal sudah terang lagi bersuluh, tempat tersebut bukan untuk menyembah Tuhan yang Esa, Allah S.W.T. Sejarah sekalipun, tak perlulah bersusah payah reconstruct and rebuilt the temples. Near the Haci Bayram Mosque, there's the Column of Julianus, built to commemorate his visit to Ancyra (ancient name for Ankara), in 362 A.D.The next and last visit in Ankara would be Anitkabir, the memorial complex which houses a mausoleum where the hero of the modern Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal was laid to rest. The memorial complex was so huge as it includes the War and Independence Museum, which I could say the
Turkish National Museum. If you love history and enjoy scenes from battlefield and wars, the museum is a perfect place for you. Inside were vast collections of both national and private belongings of Mustafa Kemal during his time as the first president of Turkey. Of the topic. Disebabkan blog aku ada jugak menyebut tentang Freemason, aku menjadi curious ingin mencari simbol2 atau unsur2 Freemason di Anitkabir. The staircases which leads to the mausoleum have 42 steps, according to the guidebook. I counted it myself. My conclusion, it is actually (33+9) steps before visitors can enter the main hall, where the symbolic sarcophagus of him was put on display. Remember anything significance about the number '33' ? Read here. Plus, inside the main hall was 12 torches (lamp design) at the right and left of the inner wall. Besides, some of the floor colour are black and white checkered floor. Haih~~sorilah, jatuh mood korang nak baca cerita santai kan? Jalan2 di Museum of War and Independence banyak mengajar aku tentang sejarah Turki dan bagaimana terhapusnya sistem Khalifah (Caliphate system) yang selama ini menjadi tunjang dan payung bagi umat Islam. Aku tahu, ramai umat Islam sedih akan kejadian yang berlaku pada 16 Mac 1924, di mana pada tarikh tersebut the caliphate system was constitutionally abolished by it's own nation. Aku bukanlah penyokong Mustafa Kemal, tetapi aku juga tak menyokong percaturan politik Khalifah Uthmaniah dan gaya hidup Sultan2 mereka yang terlalu mewah. Mungkin ada sesetengah Sultan yang benar2 adil memerintah. Kajilah sejarah sebaik mungkin dahulu. That's the last visit before I headed out of Ankara to Istanbul. Again, the bus fare was 20TL.p/s: Kubur Mustafa Kemal sebenarnya bukanlah sarcophagus tu. Itu hanyalah simbolik sahaja. Kubur sebenarnya terletak betul2 di bawah sarcophagus tersebut. It's not open to the public for security reason. Wallahua'lam.
16 Mac
For the last visit before I left the land of two continents, I take a quick tour around Bosphorus, famously known as Bogaz Tur. The quick tour is advisable for those who is in a rush or have a limited time to explore Istanbul, I recommend the TurYol tour. The tour takes about one hour and a half. There are actually many choices of way to explore the Bosphorus Straist, but most of the tourists would take either the fast and modern TurYol tour, or the classic and more relax Turkish lalalala tour. You can grab a doner (kebab) and aryan (yogurt) with a price of 2.50TL at the hawker stalls nearby before you board the boat. Some guidebooks give advices to come early as it could get very crowded. It's best to take one of the earliest ferries, and to be at the ferry 
dock at least 15 minutes before departure (30 minutes is even better) in order to get in line to board. When boarding begins, passengers near the front of the line can choose the best seats: interior, exterior, upper deck or lower deck, on the sunny side or the shady side, in the bow or the stern.On busy days, it's best not to plan on taking the last or even second-last ferry of the day to return to Istanbul, as these boats fill to capacity (or over-capacity) early in their voyages. You may not be able to board, and if you are able, you may have to stand during the entire voyage in crowded conditions. Luckily in winter, the tourist is not as many as in summer. The only thing you'll have to consider traveling in Turkey during winter is it's unpredictable weather. Most of the time will be raining, but there are some clear weathers too.
That's all from Turkey. Wish I would have other chances to visit other countries.
Oh yes, another thing you can get from this priceless journey, is you get to know other people from other parts of the world.
Another faces of Turkey...
Kebab hawker stall. As cheap as 2TL, you can get either chicken or beef kebab with mineral water , and if you're lucky, a cup of yogurt.
A glance inside an Otogar, a term for a local transport hub. A center for buses and trains. This one was taken in Ankara. It costs me 20TL for a one-way journey to Istanbul.
Pamukkale, one of the must go location if you are in Turkey. Famous for it's majestic limestone hill. (It's winter so, the picture isn't very clear. Sorry for that.)
Another delicacies of Turkey. Guess what. I bought it for only 1TL ! Now, that's budget travel !
p/s: It's good to go out there, travel alone. You'll learn something valuable from your trip, I guarantee. You'll learn to know your true nature. To excel in life, we don't refer to textbooks. We explore it on our own.
Friday, March 12, 2010
I survived in Turkey!! part 1
Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)
As I promised before, here is the sequel of my journey. Now from Turkey. I'll try to update my blog as frequent as I can, but as I'm traveling, I don't really have much time to do it. So, whenever I have access to the internet, in hotel or in public places, I'll try.
9 Mac
This day marked my first day in Turkey, Istanbul to be precise. As a Muslim country, I feel quite secure upon arrival in Turkey. I arrived at dawn. Sampai2 je terus solat Subuh, walaupun sedikit terlewat. My first challenge began when I had to take a metro from the airport to Zeytinburnu station. From there I changed to tram until Sultanahmet, the place where I'm going to stay for the next 2 nights. Sultanahmet, I could say, one of the favorite place to stay for any travelers and backpackers. There's a lot of cheap hostels and hotels available within walking distance. If your map doesn't help much, don't hesitate to ask for locals. In Istanbul, the people could speak some basic English. So, don't worry. Even Japanese can survive here! lols.
The Blue Mosque
My first place would be the icon of the city, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, famously known as the Blue Mosque. Antara sebab aku memilih Masjid Sultan Ahmed adalah sebagai tanda hormat. Takkanlah tempat pertama nak dituju Ayasofya, bekas gereja yang ditukar menjadi masjid dan akhirnya menjadi muzium, sampailah sekarang. It's adab. To get there is very simple. Once you get off at Sultanahmet, you can see the Blue Mosque standing majestically in front of your eyes. Don't get confused with the Hagia Sophia (or Ayasofya), just opposite the Blue Mosque. The admission is free. The mosque will not receive visitors 25 minutes after the athan (Muslim call of prayer). Visitors have to take their own shoes inside the mosque using plastic bags available at the entrance.
Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)
Next stop, Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya. The admission fee per person is 20TL. Outside the buildings there are some ruins and pillars on display at the garden open air. As you step inside, you'll be awed with a sarcophagus and carvings around the door and on the walls. Latin language perhaps. Stepping inside, I was quite disappointed as the renovation works to restore the building and it's relics were in progress. But still, the main attractions were untouched and still can be enjoyed. Really, inside you could see the mix of Islam and Christianity in one place, under the same roof. Along with the calligraphy of the words ALLAH and Muhammad, there's also images of Gabriel and Jesus on the wall (which is not acknowledged in Islam). There's even a tomb of one of the commanders of Christian army during the 4th Crusades at the 2nd floor. Rasa syahdu bila masuk ruangan utama Ayasofya. Sedih mengenangkan nasib sebuah Masjid yang agung ditukar menjadi muzium. Dahlah aku pun masuk ke dalam dengan berkasut. Mimbar yang sepatutnya digunakan untuk khutbah kini tidak lebih sekadar barang pameran. Mihrab yang sepatutnya ada Imam, kini kosong menjadi tatapan pelawat. Sedih.
Basilica Cistern
The next stop, the famous Basilica Cistern, about 70 meters of walking distance from Ayasofya. The admission fee is 10TL. Walking inside, the floor and the stairs are slippery so choose your shoes wisely. Inside, some water are still dripping from the ceiling, but don't worry as it won't be like in a rain. The Basilica Cistern was once used to provide water for Topkapi Palace. There are stagnant water inside where a lot of carps live. I found many people throw coins into the water. Bagus sangat la tu. Kayakan orang lain.
Medusa's head
Another attraction is the Medusa's head, carved at the column of two pillar bases. Next stop is the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts. This Ottoman Palace on the Hippodrome is now home to a magnificent collection of artifacts representing almost every period and genre of Islamic art. The museum's collection of antique carpets is generally recognized as the best in the world, and the manuscripts and miniatures on display are equally impressive. The admission fee is 10TL. Finally, I took a walk until the gate of Istanbul University and the Great Bazaar. I really wanted to go inside, but it's getting dark already so, I save the exploration for tomorrow.
10 Mac
Tuesday. At last the top attraction in Istanbul, the Topkapi Palace is ready to receive visitors. The day was cloudy, but fortunately it wasn't raining. In the cool morning, I headed out from Sultan Hostel straight to the Topkapi Palace after the breakfast. Topkapi Palace is a MUST for any visitors visiting Turkey. Most of the great Sultan that ruled Turkey hundreds of years back stayed here. Inside, the big, open air palace, there are many sections of museums. The Holy relics, carriages, the famous Harem, garden and others. I spent most of my time at the Holy Relic section where most of the relics in Islam were on display. Among them were the sword of Prophet Muhammad, the 4 Righteous Caliphs and the prophet's companion's (Peace be upon them), the turban of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph)A.s, the sword of Prophet Daud(David) A.s, the tooth, robe and footprint of Prophet Muhammad, the stick of Musa (Moses) A.s which he used to cut through the Red Sea while he and the 12 tribes of Jews were being chased by the Pharaoh, and others.
Museum of Holy Relics
Moving on, I went to see the royal garden and terraces overlooking the Golden Horn. From the terrace, you can see the Galata Bridge, city of Istanbul, ferries and tankers passing through. The view is very great and perfect for those who love photography. The tiles and mosaics of the floor inside the palace was superb and still in very good condition. At one of the museums, you can see full of jewel encrusted treasures, medals, sultan's robes and even sultan's plates and glasses. You can really imagine how luxury the lifestyle of the Sultan inside. Dalam hati aku berkata: Patutlah Empayar Islam jatuh. Sultan hidup terlalu mewah, sampaikan pinggan dan cawan pun dari emas dan berlian! Nak makan je pun. Kan bagus kalau kemewahan tu disalurkan kepada rakyat dan agama. Nak kayakan keluarga sendiri je, mana boleh. So, umat Islam pun tak boleh salahkan Mustafa Kamal 100%. Tengok sendiri bagaimana gaya hidup Sultan-sultan di dalam istana.
Inside of the Harem
The next and the most important part of the Topkapi Palace is the Imperial Harem, where Sultan, concubines and his family lived along with the Black Eunuchs, who were assigned to serve and guard the Sultan's family. The surroundings, chambers and pavilions inside are superb. It amazes you with it's decorations and the illustrated dome inside. The descriptions of each room alone was enough to let you dream how lucky it was to be in the Harem. Most of the diorama and miniatures were great. The modern term for Harem, especially in anime depicts the life and surroundings of the Sultan in Harem at that time. A man encircled by hundreds of women, it's every man's dream I guessed. In Harem, the highest rank besides the Sultan himself is the Valide Sultan or the Queen Mother. No one can leave and enter the Harem without the Sultan or the Queen Mother's explicit permission. Legend has it that Ibrahim the Mad had his entire harem of 280 women tied in sacks and thrown into the Bosphorus when he gets tired of them.
After Topkapi, headed out to visit the Grand Bazaar where hundreds of shops sells everything from original carpets and clothing to fake Rolex. It's always worth bargaining with the shopkeepers. Beware of your valuable belongings inside as it could get really crowded. There are multiple exits at the Grand Bazaar with numbers on each gates, so you won't get lost easily. After completing the tour at the Grand Bazaar, I headed out to tram to get to Karaköy station, crossing the Galata Bridge. One of the 'must go' places in here is the Galata Tower. Just look for the signboard for Galata Tower (or Galata Kulesi) and walk uphill through the neighborhood and rows of shop-houses. I don't think you can get lost around there as the tower itself stood high as your guide. The admission fee is 10TL and is open from 9:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.
Grand Bazaar
View from Galata Tower
From above, you can enjoy 360 degrees panorama of Istanbul. It is best to enjoy the sunset from above. Most of the prominent tourist spots can be seen from above. After visited the Galata Tower, I went across the bridge just like the locals did, on foot while enjoying the sunset and the view of the New Mosque under the spotlight. It was quite cold out there. From the bridge you can see some locals waiting patiently for the fish, with ferries and cruisers passing through right under the bridge. Upon reaching the end of the bridge, I took a quick tour of the Spice Bazaar. Here you can see pyramids of spices, meat, fishes and other ingredients of cooking. Even the chefs from hotels around Istanbul came here often to buy their ingredients. One of the specialties in Istanbul is the Lokum, widely known as the Turkish Delight. In here, you can get it with a good price, normally sold at 10TL per kg. You can try bargaining the price if you like.
The Lokum (Turkish Delight)
After all the visiting mentioned above, I visited Sultan Fatih Mosque and his tomb, which is located quite far from Sultanahmet, but still reachable by tram. The nearest tram station is Aksaray. From there, you have to walk for about 500 meters. Ada sebab kenapa aku susah payah gak nak melawat makam Sultan Fatih ni. The complex consists of the mosque and tombs around the mosque compound. There's something interesting at his tomb that attracted my attention. One of his will upon entering the Hagia Sophia during the conquest of Constantinople read like this;
"May this building (Aya Sofya) remains as a mosque till the Judgment Day. He who dares to change it again, may he be cursed by the Almighty ALLAH."
Teringat kisah yang pernah diceritakan oleh kawan2. Dikhabarkan jenazah Mustafa Kamal Ataturk tidak diterima bumi. Jenazahnya dikebumikan di dalam sarcophagus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh mayat2 pada zaman Rom dan Greek. Wallahua'lam.
Asyik cerita pasal tempat je, boring gak kan? What's the specialty in Istanbul? I know some of you were tired enough to hear the baklava and the Turkish Delight (or lokum). One of the foods recommended by my friend is Balik Ekmek or Fish Sandwiches (kot?). Inside the half baguette, instead of chicken or lamb just like kebab, Balik Ekmek use half-grilled mackerel and the taste, really delicious. You would want to eat it again, believe me.
Balik Ekmek
Up until now, the greatest challenge in my trip started today. I decided to explore further out from Istanbul and my first destination is Bursa. From Sultanahmet, I took the tram to Aksaray and change to Metro Aksaray until Otogar (Bus Station) Station. The easier and faster route would be like this. From Sultanahmet, take the tram until Zeytinburnu, change to metro and go to the Otogar station. At first, the plan was to make a round trip in Turkey's Asia side, started with Pamukkale. But then, I was informed that the bus to Pamukkale only depart on night. Left with not much choices, I decided to head for Bursa. The journey to Bursa took about almost 3 hours. The interesting part was when you cross the Aegean Sea by ferry. along with your bus. It took about 45 minutes I think. Arrived at Bursa Otogar. At that time, I started to feel the hardship that I might came across in this trip. Almost no one can speak English. As I started the journey without any heavy breakfast, I grabbed two kebabs, all for myself. Sedap, memang sedap tapi nak mengunyah tu, alahai.... letih sebab penuh mulut. I tried to find out what's so interesting in Bursa. Ok, let me tell you. My friend told me, the people in Bursa is very beautiful. Girls I mean. Boleh berdarah hidung. Ok, ini bukan anime nak berdarah-darah hidung pulak. You could say, that's among the reason why I went there. Hah, lelaki...
Failed to find anything interesting, plus the time is almost 16:00p.m. The weather is cloudy with signs of rain and it's getting darker. Whether I stay overnight at Bursa or I got to go somewhere else. I then decided to keep going and this time, to Izmir. Izmir is very famous among backpackers and travelers I heard. There's even an airport nearby so I guessed it's really famous among the tourists. Arrived at Izmir Otogar safely at about 20:00 p.m. The Izmir Otogar is a very big place with buses going to various destinations. Dah malam2 ni, nak cari hotel murah pun agak susah dan mungkin agak jauh. Merayau-rayau kejap, ternampak sebuah hotel bersebelahan Otogar. Nasib baik. It's MOM Hotel. From outside, there's nothing special at the hotel. Maybe the rate is cheaper I thought. Went inside to see the receptionist and stared at the rate board. It's 100YTL per person for a single room! Mahal gila kot! Lepas puas merayu, dapat la Student Rate. So, bermalamlah hamba dengan kadar 80 YTL. Bilik bukan single, muat triple orang kat dalam. Memang luas and very cozy. Free Internet and breakfast. Terdesak, lagipun the nearest hotel would be 20km away, so that's it for tonight.
Bersambung....
As I promised before, here is the sequel of my journey. Now from Turkey. I'll try to update my blog as frequent as I can, but as I'm traveling, I don't really have much time to do it. So, whenever I have access to the internet, in hotel or in public places, I'll try.
9 Mac
This day marked my first day in Turkey, Istanbul to be precise. As a Muslim country, I feel quite secure upon arrival in Turkey. I arrived at dawn. Sampai2 je terus solat Subuh, walaupun sedikit terlewat. My first challenge began when I had to take a metro from the airport to Zeytinburnu station. From there I changed to tram until Sultanahmet, the place where I'm going to stay for the next 2 nights. Sultanahmet, I could say, one of the favorite place to stay for any travelers and backpackers. There's a lot of cheap hostels and hotels available within walking distance. If your map doesn't help much, don't hesitate to ask for locals. In Istanbul, the people could speak some basic English. So, don't worry. Even Japanese can survive here! lols.
My first place would be the icon of the city, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, famously known as the Blue Mosque. Antara sebab aku memilih Masjid Sultan Ahmed adalah sebagai tanda hormat. Takkanlah tempat pertama nak dituju Ayasofya, bekas gereja yang ditukar menjadi masjid dan akhirnya menjadi muzium, sampailah sekarang. It's adab. To get there is very simple. Once you get off at Sultanahmet, you can see the Blue Mosque standing majestically in front of your eyes. Don't get confused with the Hagia Sophia (or Ayasofya), just opposite the Blue Mosque. The admission is free. The mosque will not receive visitors 25 minutes after the athan (Muslim call of prayer). Visitors have to take their own shoes inside the mosque using plastic bags available at the entrance.
Next stop, Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya. The admission fee per person is 20TL. Outside the buildings there are some ruins and pillars on display at the garden open air. As you step inside, you'll be awed with a sarcophagus and carvings around the door and on the walls. Latin language perhaps. Stepping inside, I was quite disappointed as the renovation works to restore the building and it's relics were in progress. But still, the main attractions were untouched and still can be enjoyed. Really, inside you could see the mix of Islam and Christianity in one place, under the same roof. Along with the calligraphy of the words ALLAH and Muhammad, there's also images of Gabriel and Jesus on the wall (which is not acknowledged in Islam). There's even a tomb of one of the commanders of Christian army during the 4th Crusades at the 2nd floor. Rasa syahdu bila masuk ruangan utama Ayasofya. Sedih mengenangkan nasib sebuah Masjid yang agung ditukar menjadi muzium. Dahlah aku pun masuk ke dalam dengan berkasut. Mimbar yang sepatutnya digunakan untuk khutbah kini tidak lebih sekadar barang pameran. Mihrab yang sepatutnya ada Imam, kini kosong menjadi tatapan pelawat. Sedih.
The next stop, the famous Basilica Cistern, about 70 meters of walking distance from Ayasofya. The admission fee is 10TL. Walking inside, the floor and the stairs are slippery so choose your shoes wisely. Inside, some water are still dripping from the ceiling, but don't worry as it won't be like in a rain. The Basilica Cistern was once used to provide water for Topkapi Palace. There are stagnant water inside where a lot of carps live. I found many people throw coins into the water. Bagus sangat la tu. Kayakan orang lain.
Another attraction is the Medusa's head, carved at the column of two pillar bases. Next stop is the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts. This Ottoman Palace on the Hippodrome is now home to a magnificent collection of artifacts representing almost every period and genre of Islamic art. The museum's collection of antique carpets is generally recognized as the best in the world, and the manuscripts and miniatures on display are equally impressive. The admission fee is 10TL. Finally, I took a walk until the gate of Istanbul University and the Great Bazaar. I really wanted to go inside, but it's getting dark already so, I save the exploration for tomorrow.
10 Mac
Tuesday. At last the top attraction in Istanbul, the Topkapi Palace is ready to receive visitors. The day was cloudy, but fortunately it wasn't raining. In the cool morning, I headed out from Sultan Hostel straight to the Topkapi Palace after the breakfast. Topkapi Palace is a MUST for any visitors visiting Turkey. Most of the great Sultan that ruled Turkey hundreds of years back stayed here. Inside, the big, open air palace, there are many sections of museums. The Holy relics, carriages, the famous Harem, garden and others. I spent most of my time at the Holy Relic section where most of the relics in Islam were on display. Among them were the sword of Prophet Muhammad, the 4 Righteous Caliphs and the prophet's companion's (Peace be upon them), the turban of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph)A.s, the sword of Prophet Daud(David) A.s, the tooth, robe and footprint of Prophet Muhammad, the stick of Musa (Moses) A.s which he used to cut through the Red Sea while he and the 12 tribes of Jews were being chased by the Pharaoh, and others.
Moving on, I went to see the royal garden and terraces overlooking the Golden Horn. From the terrace, you can see the Galata Bridge, city of Istanbul, ferries and tankers passing through. The view is very great and perfect for those who love photography. The tiles and mosaics of the floor inside the palace was superb and still in very good condition. At one of the museums, you can see full of jewel encrusted treasures, medals, sultan's robes and even sultan's plates and glasses. You can really imagine how luxury the lifestyle of the Sultan inside. Dalam hati aku berkata: Patutlah Empayar Islam jatuh. Sultan hidup terlalu mewah, sampaikan pinggan dan cawan pun dari emas dan berlian! Nak makan je pun. Kan bagus kalau kemewahan tu disalurkan kepada rakyat dan agama. Nak kayakan keluarga sendiri je, mana boleh. So, umat Islam pun tak boleh salahkan Mustafa Kamal 100%. Tengok sendiri bagaimana gaya hidup Sultan-sultan di dalam istana.
The next and the most important part of the Topkapi Palace is the Imperial Harem, where Sultan, concubines and his family lived along with the Black Eunuchs, who were assigned to serve and guard the Sultan's family. The surroundings, chambers and pavilions inside are superb. It amazes you with it's decorations and the illustrated dome inside. The descriptions of each room alone was enough to let you dream how lucky it was to be in the Harem. Most of the diorama and miniatures were great. The modern term for Harem, especially in anime depicts the life and surroundings of the Sultan in Harem at that time. A man encircled by hundreds of women, it's every man's dream I guessed. In Harem, the highest rank besides the Sultan himself is the Valide Sultan or the Queen Mother. No one can leave and enter the Harem without the Sultan or the Queen Mother's explicit permission. Legend has it that Ibrahim the Mad had his entire harem of 280 women tied in sacks and thrown into the Bosphorus when he gets tired of them.
After Topkapi, headed out to visit the Grand Bazaar where hundreds of shops sells everything from original carpets and clothing to fake Rolex. It's always worth bargaining with the shopkeepers. Beware of your valuable belongings inside as it could get really crowded. There are multiple exits at the Grand Bazaar with numbers on each gates, so you won't get lost easily. After completing the tour at the Grand Bazaar, I headed out to tram to get to Karaköy station, crossing the Galata Bridge. One of the 'must go' places in here is the Galata Tower. Just look for the signboard for Galata Tower (or Galata Kulesi) and walk uphill through the neighborhood and rows of shop-houses. I don't think you can get lost around there as the tower itself stood high as your guide. The admission fee is 10TL and is open from 9:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m.
From above, you can enjoy 360 degrees panorama of Istanbul. It is best to enjoy the sunset from above. Most of the prominent tourist spots can be seen from above. After visited the Galata Tower, I went across the bridge just like the locals did, on foot while enjoying the sunset and the view of the New Mosque under the spotlight. It was quite cold out there. From the bridge you can see some locals waiting patiently for the fish, with ferries and cruisers passing through right under the bridge. Upon reaching the end of the bridge, I took a quick tour of the Spice Bazaar. Here you can see pyramids of spices, meat, fishes and other ingredients of cooking. Even the chefs from hotels around Istanbul came here often to buy their ingredients. One of the specialties in Istanbul is the Lokum, widely known as the Turkish Delight. In here, you can get it with a good price, normally sold at 10TL per kg. You can try bargaining the price if you like.
The Lokum (Turkish Delight)After all the visiting mentioned above, I visited Sultan Fatih Mosque and his tomb, which is located quite far from Sultanahmet, but still reachable by tram. The nearest tram station is Aksaray. From there, you have to walk for about 500 meters. Ada sebab kenapa aku susah payah gak nak melawat makam Sultan Fatih ni. The complex consists of the mosque and tombs around the mosque compound. There's something interesting at his tomb that attracted my attention. One of his will upon entering the Hagia Sophia during the conquest of Constantinople read like this;
"May this building (Aya Sofya) remains as a mosque till the Judgment Day. He who dares to change it again, may he be cursed by the Almighty ALLAH."
Teringat kisah yang pernah diceritakan oleh kawan2. Dikhabarkan jenazah Mustafa Kamal Ataturk tidak diterima bumi. Jenazahnya dikebumikan di dalam sarcophagus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh mayat2 pada zaman Rom dan Greek. Wallahua'lam.
Asyik cerita pasal tempat je, boring gak kan? What's the specialty in Istanbul? I know some of you were tired enough to hear the baklava and the Turkish Delight (or lokum). One of the foods recommended by my friend is Balik Ekmek or Fish Sandwiches (kot?). Inside the half baguette, instead of chicken or lamb just like kebab, Balik Ekmek use half-grilled mackerel and the taste, really delicious. You would want to eat it again, believe me.
Balik Ekmek Another food you can find almost anywhere in Istanbul (or maybe in Turkey) is called Simit. It's kind of a circular bread with sesame seeds. The price usually never goes beyond 1TL. Mostly it can be found sold on a hawker stall like the picture bellow. The taste is quite plain. No filling inside. Best eaten while hot along with a cup of tea or coffee I think.
Local purchasing Simit
'Simit' (Turkish bagel)
'Simit' (Turkish bagel)11 Mac
Up until now, the greatest challenge in my trip started today. I decided to explore further out from Istanbul and my first destination is Bursa. From Sultanahmet, I took the tram to Aksaray and change to Metro Aksaray until Otogar (Bus Station) Station. The easier and faster route would be like this. From Sultanahmet, take the tram until Zeytinburnu, change to metro and go to the Otogar station. At first, the plan was to make a round trip in Turkey's Asia side, started with Pamukkale. But then, I was informed that the bus to Pamukkale only depart on night. Left with not much choices, I decided to head for Bursa. The journey to Bursa took about almost 3 hours. The interesting part was when you cross the Aegean Sea by ferry. along with your bus. It took about 45 minutes I think. Arrived at Bursa Otogar. At that time, I started to feel the hardship that I might came across in this trip. Almost no one can speak English. As I started the journey without any heavy breakfast, I grabbed two kebabs, all for myself. Sedap, memang sedap tapi nak mengunyah tu, alahai.... letih sebab penuh mulut. I tried to find out what's so interesting in Bursa. Ok, let me tell you. My friend told me, the people in Bursa is very beautiful. Girls I mean. Boleh berdarah hidung. Ok, ini bukan anime nak berdarah-darah hidung pulak. You could say, that's among the reason why I went there. Hah, lelaki...
Failed to find anything interesting, plus the time is almost 16:00p.m. The weather is cloudy with signs of rain and it's getting darker. Whether I stay overnight at Bursa or I got to go somewhere else. I then decided to keep going and this time, to Izmir. Izmir is very famous among backpackers and travelers I heard. There's even an airport nearby so I guessed it's really famous among the tourists. Arrived at Izmir Otogar safely at about 20:00 p.m. The Izmir Otogar is a very big place with buses going to various destinations. Dah malam2 ni, nak cari hotel murah pun agak susah dan mungkin agak jauh. Merayau-rayau kejap, ternampak sebuah hotel bersebelahan Otogar. Nasib baik. It's MOM Hotel. From outside, there's nothing special at the hotel. Maybe the rate is cheaper I thought. Went inside to see the receptionist and stared at the rate board. It's 100YTL per person for a single room! Mahal gila kot! Lepas puas merayu, dapat la Student Rate. So, bermalamlah hamba dengan kadar 80 YTL. Bilik bukan single, muat triple orang kat dalam. Memang luas and very cozy. Free Internet and breakfast. Terdesak, lagipun the nearest hotel would be 20km away, so that's it for tonight.
Bersambung....
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A lifetime trip - A traveller's journal part 2
Assalamualaikum w.b.t (Peace be upon you)
Ok, sambungan part 1.
1 March,
The next destination in Cairo is the Saladin's citadel. The citadel is located about 10 kilometres from the Cairo University. This citadel was much bigger than the Qaitbay citadel in Alexandria. The surroundings and the original buildings, walls etc were still intact and preserved (Not well preserved though..). The first thing you'll see from afar is the mosque of Muhammad Ali inside the complex. Admission fee is 25L.E per person. The staffs were not so friendly, so be careful. Inside the complex, there's a military museum, police museum and a grand mosque, stood still at the heart of the complex. Honestly, there's nothing interesting inside the National Police Museum besides old uniforms, weaponry and insignias. I recommend you to spent some time in the Military Museum. But I'm quite disappointed with the exhibits on display in the museums. The diorama and most importantly, the lighting inside all the buildings. The lighting is really really sucks! At some places, only a single lighting bulb was installed. Plus, it could get really dusty inside the building, so it's practical to bring along mask or just a simple handkerchief with you. Negara padang pasir kan....Outside the National Military Museum, there are rows of fighter jets, tanks, missiles and artillery on display. For those military freaks out there, this is your chance to portrait yourself with all those tanks and jets. I know, because I'm a military freak too. Oh yes, don't forget to bring along your water canteen along to avoid your body from dehydration.
Saladin's citadel
2 Mac
Went to Nabteet village, a rural area at the outskirt of Cairo to dispatch some stuffs to my friend's family in Egypt. The trip took almost an hour and a half to reach there. Perjalanan dengan menaiki teksi dari stesen Abud menyebabkan kami dicekik oleh pak2 Arab dengan bayaran 100L.E. Semasa harga tambang dirundingkan, pemandu tersebut bertanyakan soalan default kepada setiap pelancong asing,
"Where are you come from?".
"Maalizia (sebutan dalam Bahasa Arab untuk Malaysia).Why do you asked?"
Pemandu menjawab, "If you're from China, I'll give you a free ride."
Kawan saya tak puas hati, terus mencelah,"Kenapa pulak. Setiap orang kan sama tak kira bangsa."
Dengan yakin pemandu membalas,"Sebab kereta ni buatan China".
(Tiada adegan jatuh kebelakang dengan kepala terdongak. Ini bukanlah anime)
*Aku puas mencari bukti ''Made in China, tapi stereng dan design kereta tersebut terang2 menunjukkan ini kereta BMW. Nak marah, nanti tak dapat naik. Nak gelak, kesian dengan tahap ilmu mereka. Saboorrr je laa*
Sudahlah tak tahu arah jalan (tapi berlagak tahu. Nak dekat 7 kali berhenti, tanya jalan), setiap perempuan yang kami temui sepanjang perjalanan pasti tidak akan dilepaskan peluang oleh si pemandu ni. Ada satu insiden yang menarik. Pemandu teksi ini sedang sibuk memandu sambil melayan lagu2 Arab. Tiba di satu jalan, seorang kanak2 (tadika kot) melintas secara tiba-tiba. Terkejut, si pemandu terlanggar kanak2 malang itu, walaupun dah emergency brake. Terpelanting ke belakang budak tu. Nasib baiklah ada beg sekolah yang menghalang budak tu dari melakukan 'sommersault'. No head injuries, thank God. Ikutkan hati, nak je lari, cari teksi lain. Tapi kami tak sejahat itu lagi. Lepas settlekan problem dengan orang2 sekeliling, driver kembali menyambung menghantar kami ke destinasi. Orang Egypt ni sifat dia memang taknak mengaku kalah. Egyptian Pride kononnya. Sudahlah salah diri sendiri terlanggar budak tadi tu. Kita yang penumpang ni pun dimarahnya.
"Kalau dah nampak budak tu tadi, kenapa tak suruh berhenti!". Dimarahnya kita balik. Bagus kan budi bahasa mereka. Orang Arab.
Arrived safely at the Nabteet village after an hour and a half long journey. It's a typical rural area where children play football with bare foot, donkey's dung were everywhere, rubbish and so on. Alhamdulillah, rumah orang yang dicari senang dijumpai. Semangat kejiranan kawasan kampung. Egyptian hospitality, we were served with foods and tea. Even though that was our first time to meet each other, they treated us as if we have long known each other for a long time. Very nice people. There, we experienced a lifetime ride on a donkey. Even I'm surprised how strong the donkey is. We stayed there until maghrib and was sent back to Cairo, for free! Kita tolong orang, orang akan tolong kita balik.
3 Mac
Hari ni dimulakan dengan sama2 menghadiri kelas pathology, kelas tentang organ2 badan (kot). Seperti biasa, lecture agak mengantuk dan membosankan. Time praktikal, kami dibenarkan menyentuh organ manusia paling penting dalam badan setiap manusia, jantung. Tapi jantung tu taklah normal. Mungkin berpenyakit sebab berwarna gelap sedikit. At first memang menggelikan. Berat jugak jantung ni. Yelah, student engineering yang dah biasa dengan gear dan skru, memegang organ jantung... Dalam 1kg lebih kot. Nampak live, depan mata apa yang dipanggil artificial heart. Bukan tu saja, dapat pegang lagi injap2 di dalam jantung tu. Dulu time sekolah menengah, belajar ikut buku je. Mana satu atrium kiri-kanan, ventrikel kiri-kanan, injap sabit. Sekarang dah rasa dengan tangan sendiri. Memang bangga. Dari kelas itu juga, penulis baru tahu. Organ2 diawet di dalam bahan yang dipanggil formalin. Memang ada organ tangan, hidung, kaki. Tapi penulis tak mahu mengambil gambar, bimbang disyaki apa2 oleh doktor dan pensyarah disitu.
After Zuhur, went to the "must see before you die" one of the wonders in the world, the Giza pyramid. The best time to visit pyramid is after Asar, between 4 to 5.30p.m sebab teduh sikit, taklah panas membahang. Ada cerita sedih yang berlaku sebenarnya di piramid Giza ni. Sesampainya kami di tempat parking motorsikal, kami ditegur (read: dirembat) oleh seorang pakcik tua yang menawarkan kami trip ke piramid dengan kuda atau unta. Bagaikan diPUKAU, kami menurut saja tanpa banyak soal (read:tawar-menawar harga). Since horses can be found in Hokkaido and Malaysia, we decided to ride on a camelback, but were being told, it was quite expensive than the horse. No choice, we agreed to ride horses until the pyramid. We agreed to pay 350L.E for each horse. Inexperienced, we thought that was the best price. Entahlah kenapa, kami langsung tak membantah. Perjalanan diteruskan and for the first time, I rode and steered the horse by myself! It's quite easy for the first time as the horse doesn't gallop too much. It's like an exercise for your back. At the pyramid area, the guide did asked me whether I and my friend want to take picture on a camelback or not. Malas nak melayan, penulis mengambil kesilapan besar. Mengiyakan semuanya. We thought the camel thing was included in the price we paid earlier. We THOUGHT! That was the mistake. Confirm your payment first before agreeing on something, especially when dealing with the Egyptian. By the time we return, we were both asked for another 200L.E for each camel. Luckily, we still have money left.
p/s: Nak tengok sangat hidung Sphinx yang patah kena meriam tentera Napoleon Bonaparte. Tapi masa melawat dah habis. Sempat tengok dari jauh je lah. Memang betul, patah hidung. The modern Egyptian Arabic name is أبو الهول (transliteration: Abū al-Hūl; English: Father of Terror).
Happy faces on the horseback...before we know kami telah dicekik!
We thought the "mencekik" was over, but no. Another tips (locally known as Baksheesh) was demanded by the guide. Dengan hati yang berat ditambah dengan sumpahan2, kami hulurkan jugak 100L.E seorang. Harga student. Totally, we spent 650L.E for the trip around pyramid. Bodohkan? Kami rasa memang kena pukau kot. Tengoklah kat mana. Piramid. Pusat 'energy' yang jahat kot. Dari zaman Firaun pulak tu. Takpelah, nak buat macam mana. Bukan rezeki kami. Tapi penulis segera teringat tentang niat penulis sebelum keluar dari rumah ke piramid. Niat penulis: Nak naik unta dan kuda. Kebetulan, memang di piramid kami naik unta dan kuda, serentak pulak tu. Kalau difikir-fikirkan kembali, niat tersebut Allah kabulkan dengan mudah. Ramai orang kata, Mesir ni macam Makkah sikit. So kenalah jaga mulut dan tingkahlaku di sini. And Alhamdulillah, setakat ini semua niat penulis dikabulkan Allah. So, too any travellers who wants to travel here, go with a good niat (intentions).
4 Mac
My friend and I took a bus from Cairo at 1:00 a.m and headed to Sharm el- Sheikh, one of the famous tourist attraction in Egypt. The place is famous for it's beaches. To go there, either by yourself or by tour packages, be sure to bring along your passport. The location is near to Sinai border, just next to Israel, so the security is very high. Some checkpoints even has an armored car. Arrived at the bus station at around 7:30 a.m. As you get off the bus, a bunch of taxi drivers will wait for you, their 'victims'. Be extra careful, and negotiate the price first. Our taxi took us to Sunset Hotel with a fare of 30L.E. The hotel is a 3-star rated hotel, complete with swimming pool and basic facilities. We only have free breakfast (buffet) and dinner (buffet), and free tour to the nearest beach and town. For 3 days and 2 nights, it costs us 640L.E per person. Student price la katakan. Service, makan OKla. Buffet for breakfast and dinner.As an Asian, I could feel and see some kind of double standard here. If I'm a white guy from Europe or America, the service would differ. Well, I guess it's everywhere.
5 Mac
A trip to Sharm El-Sheikh will not complete without visiting the beach. We went to Rass om el Seed, one of the famous beaches in Sharm El-Sheikh. Free shuttle service between hotel and beach was provided. As we arrived at the beach, lots of people from Russia and Spain mostly were already occupied the place. The surrounding...tak nak cakap la. Ramai yang berpakaian, tetapi telanjang, sesuai dengan sebuah hadith Nabi. OK, tolak tepi semua tu. Tipu sangatla kalau kata tak TERtengok. Air laut memang jernih. Crystal clear. Boleh nampak ikan berenang2 dan batu karang. Some area were
full of rocks and corals. Memang sakit la kaki. Really, you should go and see the beaches at least once. The long journey from the Cairo is worthy. Once again, another incident with the local Arab. The Double Standard. From my observation, the Arab staffs will try to give a good service to the 'white people'. They will talk with sweet words, smile and could be really helpful. But when an Asian ask for their help or services, don't expect you'll get the same service and hospitality from them. This is a true experience. Now I understand something. If you read at the internet about certain hotel you're looking for a stay, some comments will say,"The staffs is very friendly. Highly recommend." or "A 5 star hospitality from the staffs. Looking forward to come here again.". What I can conclude is, those comments were from a white people, American, European or Russian. I bet no comments from Asian will be like that...except from Japan and China. Maybe. This is not racism. It's a reality in Egypt.
8 Mac
Today is my last day in Egypt. Ya, aku try tak buat ayat sedih. Pengalaman di Egypt, banyak yang aku boleh simpulkan, banyak perkara baru yang aku belajar. Eeeiii, banyak la. As for the last trip, I went to visit one of the 'must see and go' in Cairo, the oldest university in the world, the Al-Azhar University. That's the plan... but since there's a problem, the visit was cut short to visit the Al-Azhar Mosque only. Still, the quite and calm surroundings inside the mosque really worth it as my last trip in Egypt. As a symbolic gesture of my last homage to this mosque, I prayed Solat Sunat Tahiyyat-ul-masjid'. The design of the mosque is quite similar with the mosque in Medina, with an open air in the centre. One of my friends told me, the reason why the mosque was designed so is to remind the scholars and the ulama's (pious person) about the Holy Mosque in Mecca. Here I attached some of the view outside and inside the mosque.
Outside
Inside (credit to amirdad)
That's all folks. Next trip will be in Turkey insyaAllah. Siapa2 yang membaca blog ini, singgah kejap ke, 'ter'singgah ke (sebab google benda lain, tapi 'ter'sampai kat blog ni), doa2kanlah saya selamat sampai ke Turki in one piece.
Epilogue
Angkat je lah epilog (walaupun takde prologue). Let's sum up and do some review upon this trip.
Ok, sambungan part 1.
1 March,
The next destination in Cairo is the Saladin's citadel. The citadel is located about 10 kilometres from the Cairo University. This citadel was much bigger than the Qaitbay citadel in Alexandria. The surroundings and the original buildings, walls etc were still intact and preserved (Not well preserved though..). The first thing you'll see from afar is the mosque of Muhammad Ali inside the complex. Admission fee is 25L.E per person. The staffs were not so friendly, so be careful. Inside the complex, there's a military museum, police museum and a grand mosque, stood still at the heart of the complex. Honestly, there's nothing interesting inside the National Police Museum besides old uniforms, weaponry and insignias. I recommend you to spent some time in the Military Museum. But I'm quite disappointed with the exhibits on display in the museums. The diorama and most importantly, the lighting inside all the buildings. The lighting is really really sucks! At some places, only a single lighting bulb was installed. Plus, it could get really dusty inside the building, so it's practical to bring along mask or just a simple handkerchief with you. Negara padang pasir kan....Outside the National Military Museum, there are rows of fighter jets, tanks, missiles and artillery on display. For those military freaks out there, this is your chance to portrait yourself with all those tanks and jets. I know, because I'm a military freak too. Oh yes, don't forget to bring along your water canteen along to avoid your body from dehydration.
Saladin's citadel2 Mac
Went to Nabteet village, a rural area at the outskirt of Cairo to dispatch some stuffs to my friend's family in Egypt. The trip took almost an hour and a half to reach there. Perjalanan dengan menaiki teksi dari stesen Abud menyebabkan kami dicekik oleh pak2 Arab dengan bayaran 100L.E. Semasa harga tambang dirundingkan, pemandu tersebut bertanyakan soalan default kepada setiap pelancong asing,
"Where are you come from?".
"Maalizia (sebutan dalam Bahasa Arab untuk Malaysia).Why do you asked?"
Pemandu menjawab, "If you're from China, I'll give you a free ride."
Kawan saya tak puas hati, terus mencelah,"Kenapa pulak. Setiap orang kan sama tak kira bangsa."
Dengan yakin pemandu membalas,"Sebab kereta ni buatan China".
(Tiada adegan jatuh kebelakang dengan kepala terdongak. Ini bukanlah anime)
*Aku puas mencari bukti ''Made in China, tapi stereng dan design kereta tersebut terang2 menunjukkan ini kereta BMW. Nak marah, nanti tak dapat naik. Nak gelak, kesian dengan tahap ilmu mereka. Saboorrr je laa*
Sudahlah tak tahu arah jalan (tapi berlagak tahu. Nak dekat 7 kali berhenti, tanya jalan), setiap perempuan yang kami temui sepanjang perjalanan pasti tidak akan dilepaskan peluang oleh si pemandu ni. Ada satu insiden yang menarik. Pemandu teksi ini sedang sibuk memandu sambil melayan lagu2 Arab. Tiba di satu jalan, seorang kanak2 (tadika kot) melintas secara tiba-tiba. Terkejut, si pemandu terlanggar kanak2 malang itu, walaupun dah emergency brake. Terpelanting ke belakang budak tu. Nasib baiklah ada beg sekolah yang menghalang budak tu dari melakukan 'sommersault'. No head injuries, thank God. Ikutkan hati, nak je lari, cari teksi lain. Tapi kami tak sejahat itu lagi. Lepas settlekan problem dengan orang2 sekeliling, driver kembali menyambung menghantar kami ke destinasi. Orang Egypt ni sifat dia memang taknak mengaku kalah. Egyptian Pride kononnya. Sudahlah salah diri sendiri terlanggar budak tadi tu. Kita yang penumpang ni pun dimarahnya.
"Kalau dah nampak budak tu tadi, kenapa tak suruh berhenti!". Dimarahnya kita balik. Bagus kan budi bahasa mereka. Orang Arab.
Arrived safely at the Nabteet village after an hour and a half long journey. It's a typical rural area where children play football with bare foot, donkey's dung were everywhere, rubbish and so on. Alhamdulillah, rumah orang yang dicari senang dijumpai. Semangat kejiranan kawasan kampung. Egyptian hospitality, we were served with foods and tea. Even though that was our first time to meet each other, they treated us as if we have long known each other for a long time. Very nice people. There, we experienced a lifetime ride on a donkey. Even I'm surprised how strong the donkey is. We stayed there until maghrib and was sent back to Cairo, for free! Kita tolong orang, orang akan tolong kita balik.
3 Mac
Hari ni dimulakan dengan sama2 menghadiri kelas pathology, kelas tentang organ2 badan (kot). Seperti biasa, lecture agak mengantuk dan membosankan. Time praktikal, kami dibenarkan menyentuh organ manusia paling penting dalam badan setiap manusia, jantung. Tapi jantung tu taklah normal. Mungkin berpenyakit sebab berwarna gelap sedikit. At first memang menggelikan. Berat jugak jantung ni. Yelah, student engineering yang dah biasa dengan gear dan skru, memegang organ jantung... Dalam 1kg lebih kot. Nampak live, depan mata apa yang dipanggil artificial heart. Bukan tu saja, dapat pegang lagi injap2 di dalam jantung tu. Dulu time sekolah menengah, belajar ikut buku je. Mana satu atrium kiri-kanan, ventrikel kiri-kanan, injap sabit. Sekarang dah rasa dengan tangan sendiri. Memang bangga. Dari kelas itu juga, penulis baru tahu. Organ2 diawet di dalam bahan yang dipanggil formalin. Memang ada organ tangan, hidung, kaki. Tapi penulis tak mahu mengambil gambar, bimbang disyaki apa2 oleh doktor dan pensyarah disitu.After Zuhur, went to the "must see before you die" one of the wonders in the world, the Giza pyramid. The best time to visit pyramid is after Asar, between 4 to 5.30p.m sebab teduh sikit, taklah panas membahang. Ada cerita sedih yang berlaku sebenarnya di piramid Giza ni. Sesampainya kami di tempat parking motorsikal, kami ditegur (read: dirembat) oleh seorang pakcik tua yang menawarkan kami trip ke piramid dengan kuda atau unta. Bagaikan diPUKAU, kami menurut saja tanpa banyak soal (read:tawar-menawar harga). Since horses can be found in Hokkaido and Malaysia, we decided to ride on a camelback, but were being told, it was quite expensive than the horse. No choice, we agreed to ride horses until the pyramid. We agreed to pay 350L.E for each horse. Inexperienced, we thought that was the best price. Entahlah kenapa, kami langsung tak membantah. Perjalanan diteruskan and for the first time, I rode and steered the horse by myself! It's quite easy for the first time as the horse doesn't gallop too much. It's like an exercise for your back. At the pyramid area, the guide did asked me whether I and my friend want to take picture on a camelback or not. Malas nak melayan, penulis mengambil kesilapan besar. Mengiyakan semuanya. We thought the camel thing was included in the price we paid earlier. We THOUGHT! That was the mistake. Confirm your payment first before agreeing on something, especially when dealing with the Egyptian. By the time we return, we were both asked for another 200L.E for each camel. Luckily, we still have money left.
p/s: Nak tengok sangat hidung Sphinx yang patah kena meriam tentera Napoleon Bonaparte. Tapi masa melawat dah habis. Sempat tengok dari jauh je lah. Memang betul, patah hidung. The modern Egyptian Arabic name is أبو الهول (transliteration: Abū al-Hūl; English: Father of Terror).
Happy faces on the horseback...before we know kami telah dicekik!We thought the "mencekik" was over, but no. Another tips (locally known as Baksheesh) was demanded by the guide. Dengan hati yang berat ditambah dengan sumpahan2, kami hulurkan jugak 100L.E seorang. Harga student. Totally, we spent 650L.E for the trip around pyramid. Bodohkan? Kami rasa memang kena pukau kot. Tengoklah kat mana. Piramid. Pusat 'energy' yang jahat kot. Dari zaman Firaun pulak tu. Takpelah, nak buat macam mana. Bukan rezeki kami. Tapi penulis segera teringat tentang niat penulis sebelum keluar dari rumah ke piramid. Niat penulis: Nak naik unta dan kuda. Kebetulan, memang di piramid kami naik unta dan kuda, serentak pulak tu. Kalau difikir-fikirkan kembali, niat tersebut Allah kabulkan dengan mudah. Ramai orang kata, Mesir ni macam Makkah sikit. So kenalah jaga mulut dan tingkahlaku di sini. And Alhamdulillah, setakat ini semua niat penulis dikabulkan Allah. So, too any travellers who wants to travel here, go with a good niat (intentions).
4 Mac
My friend and I took a bus from Cairo at 1:00 a.m and headed to Sharm el- Sheikh, one of the famous tourist attraction in Egypt. The place is famous for it's beaches. To go there, either by yourself or by tour packages, be sure to bring along your passport. The location is near to Sinai border, just next to Israel, so the security is very high. Some checkpoints even has an armored car. Arrived at the bus station at around 7:30 a.m. As you get off the bus, a bunch of taxi drivers will wait for you, their 'victims'. Be extra careful, and negotiate the price first. Our taxi took us to Sunset Hotel with a fare of 30L.E. The hotel is a 3-star rated hotel, complete with swimming pool and basic facilities. We only have free breakfast (buffet) and dinner (buffet), and free tour to the nearest beach and town. For 3 days and 2 nights, it costs us 640L.E per person. Student price la katakan. Service, makan OKla. Buffet for breakfast and dinner.As an Asian, I could feel and see some kind of double standard here. If I'm a white guy from Europe or America, the service would differ. Well, I guess it's everywhere.
5 Mac
A trip to Sharm El-Sheikh will not complete without visiting the beach. We went to Rass om el Seed, one of the famous beaches in Sharm El-Sheikh. Free shuttle service between hotel and beach was provided. As we arrived at the beach, lots of people from Russia and Spain mostly were already occupied the place. The surrounding...tak nak cakap la. Ramai yang berpakaian, tetapi telanjang, sesuai dengan sebuah hadith Nabi. OK, tolak tepi semua tu. Tipu sangatla kalau kata tak TERtengok. Air laut memang jernih. Crystal clear. Boleh nampak ikan berenang2 dan batu karang. Some area were
full of rocks and corals. Memang sakit la kaki. Really, you should go and see the beaches at least once. The long journey from the Cairo is worthy. Once again, another incident with the local Arab. The Double Standard. From my observation, the Arab staffs will try to give a good service to the 'white people'. They will talk with sweet words, smile and could be really helpful. But when an Asian ask for their help or services, don't expect you'll get the same service and hospitality from them. This is a true experience. Now I understand something. If you read at the internet about certain hotel you're looking for a stay, some comments will say,"The staffs is very friendly. Highly recommend." or "A 5 star hospitality from the staffs. Looking forward to come here again.". What I can conclude is, those comments were from a white people, American, European or Russian. I bet no comments from Asian will be like that...except from Japan and China. Maybe. This is not racism. It's a reality in Egypt.8 Mac
Today is my last day in Egypt. Ya, aku try tak buat ayat sedih. Pengalaman di Egypt, banyak yang aku boleh simpulkan, banyak perkara baru yang aku belajar. Eeeiii, banyak la. As for the last trip, I went to visit one of the 'must see and go' in Cairo, the oldest university in the world, the Al-Azhar University. That's the plan... but since there's a problem, the visit was cut short to visit the Al-Azhar Mosque only. Still, the quite and calm surroundings inside the mosque really worth it as my last trip in Egypt. As a symbolic gesture of my last homage to this mosque, I prayed Solat Sunat Tahiyyat-ul-masjid'. The design of the mosque is quite similar with the mosque in Medina, with an open air in the centre. One of my friends told me, the reason why the mosque was designed so is to remind the scholars and the ulama's (pious person) about the Holy Mosque in Mecca. Here I attached some of the view outside and inside the mosque.
Outside
Inside (credit to amirdad)That's all folks. Next trip will be in Turkey insyaAllah. Siapa2 yang membaca blog ini, singgah kejap ke, 'ter'singgah ke (sebab google benda lain, tapi 'ter'sampai kat blog ni), doa2kanlah saya selamat sampai ke Turki in one piece.
Epilogue
Angkat je lah epilog (walaupun takde prologue). Let's sum up and do some review upon this trip.
- Egypt is a really nice country ever! Ok, that's a big lie. The tourism industry has a good future. A country good for travel, but not for reside.
- Be EXTRA careful throughout your stay.
- Friendly neighborhood and people (read: only some people). The people could be really insistent sometimes.
- Don't believe what you see in TV about Egypt, until you come and see for yourself. You'll be surprised. Clean and good smell city. Really.
- If you ride a bus in Egypt,especially for the first-timer, don't forget to ask (read:shout) the driver to slow down before you get off from the bus. Why, the bus will only slow down a little, maybe won't even slow down.
- It's better to have friends in Egypt, before going going to Egypt. Pretty useful when bargaining prices.
- Common people only know certain countries in the world. America, China, Japan , Korea, Brazil and maybe Malaysia. Maybe. So when they greet you with a "Ni hao", just pretend to be a Chinese. Though it could get really irritating to hear it many times.
- They hate to lose and hate to admit their faults. Be patience, as we know their education levels and most importantly, 'Egyptian pride'.
- Getting around will be a lot easier if you know how to speak Arabic and a good bargaining skills. Once you get inside a shop, even just to look around, they will expect you to buy something from their shop. If you don't, you'll get a stare from them. How to avoid that is quite simple. Just say you'll take a look at another shop and MAYBE will come back to their shop. That'll do.
- Don't mess around with the police, especially regarding sensitive issues. According to my friend, Egypt is technically still under Martial Law as war could erupt anytime with the neighboring country, Israel.
- Egypt is the first country to double or multiple the price for tourist that I've been. Most of the countries in the world will give special price or discounts for tourist, but not in Egypt. The double standard and bias are still a problem.
- Egyptian really loves tea (which they called, cai/shai) and fresh juice. Almost everywhere in Egypt you can find a shop selling fresh juices.
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