Saudi Arabia 1992: 1st Hajj & Umrah: Makkah al-Mukarramah - First pilgrimage to the Holy lands...

"We make our own fortunes and call them fate..." - Benjamin Disraeli

Makkah al-Mukarramah
(13 May - 17 June 1992)

Ya Allah,

We intend to perform the Umrah and Haj,

render it easy for us,

and accept it from us...

(Completed our Hajj, jemaah resting at the Dataran)

(Covering from the heat)

Ya Allah,

open for us the doors of Your mercies,

and make easy for us the means of livelihood..

Ya Allah,

Give us contentment in that which

You have provided for us

and bestow us with Barakat therein,

and be a successor of all whom we have left behind...

(A visit to the three Jamra'ats)

(With friends at Jabal Rahmah)

(The Kungfu Master at Jabal Uhud and Jabal Rahmah)

(The view from the top of Jabal Rahmah)

(The iconic monument on top of Jabal Rahmah)

(Riding the camel with Minah, one of my roommates)

Ya Allah,

grant us goodness in this world,

and goodness in the hereafter

and save us from the punishment of the fire...

Ya Allah!

We ask You to exalt our fame

and to ease us of our burdens,to set right our affairs,

to purify our heart

and to appoint light in our grave,

to remit from us our sins

and to bestow unto us the highest of degrees in Paradise...

(An empty street, a few days before wuquf)

(Wuquf day, our tent in Padang Arafah) 

(Mabit in Muzdalifah and spending the night at Mina)

Ya Allah,

We ask You for beneficial knowledge.

and abundance in provision,

and cure us from every ailment...

(Nafar Awal, a long walk back to Makkah from Mina)

(Exhausted after walking for almost 7 miles)

(Nafar Awal and out of ihram)

Ya Allah!

Let not any of our sins go unforgiven,

nor any of our worries undispelled,

nor any of our needs unfulfilled.

Ease our task for us,

relieve our hearts and minds,

and end righteously our deeds...

(Malaysian Jemaah ready to go home)

👈 1993: Manila, Philippines 

1992: Madinah, Saudi Arabia 👉

Saudi Arabia 1992: 1st Hajj & Umrah: Madinah - First pilgrimage to the Holy lands...

"With great passion, observe every details of the sacred journey..."

Madinah al-Munawwarah
(6 - 13 May 1992)

Ya Allah,

we seek virtue and piety from You

in this journey of ours

and the act which pleases You.

Lighten this journey of ours

and make its distance easy for us...

(Masjid Quba')

Daripada Anas bin Malik RA, bahawa Nabi SAW bersabda:

مَنْ صَلَّى فِي مَسْجِدِي أَرْبَعِينَ صَلَاةً، لَا يَفُوتُهُ صَلَاةٌ، كُتِبَتْ لَهُ بَرَاءَةٌ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَنَجَاةٌ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ، وَبَرِئَ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ

Maksudnya: “Barangsiapa yang solat di masjidku (masjid Nabawi) 40 kali solat (40 waktu) dalam keadaan dia tidak pernah terlepas walaupun satu solat (waktu) pun, akan ditulis baginya keselamatan daripada api neraka, pelepasan daripada azab dan terselamat daripada sifat munafiq”.

Out of the forty days, we spent eight days in Madinah before we moved to Makkah for our Haj rites. We also had the opportunity to tour historical places around Madinah and visited Masjid Quba', Masjid Qiblatain and Masjid Tujuh. Another place visited were Jabal Uhud and Kurma Souk.

The Quba Mosque is located in the Hejazi region, built in the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad. It is thought to be the first mosque in the world, built on the first day of Muhammad's emigration to Medina.

(Solat sunat in Masjid Quba')

(A beautiful white mosque, newly renovated)

(Masjid Quba')

On other days, in between solat when time permitted, we roamed around Madinah and explore the holy city on our own.

(Free time spent roaming around Madinah)

(Afternoon tea @ the Square)

Ya Allah,
fulfill our needs, and make our affairs easy,
and open our hearts, and accept our visit
and remove the fears, and grant us safety
and conceal our faults
and forgive our sins
and remove our difficulties
and let our end be with our good actions
and count us with Your pious servants
who do not fear or grieve by Your mercy...

(Masjid Nabawi @ the background)

(Self tour around Madinah)

👈 1992: Makkah, Saudi Arabia 

1991: Medan, Jakarta 👉

Indonesia 1991: Medan - Danau Toba the largest lake in South East Asia...

"Man can believe the impossible, but never believe the improbable..." - Oscar Wilde

(All in the family at a Batak Village)

Medan & Dano Toba, Indonesia

(5 - 9 June 1991)

We had a family holiday in Medan, Indonesia during the school short break. On arrival, we spent a night in Garuda Plaza Hotel in Medan. Then we travelled to Lake Toba and spent two nights at the Toledo Inn by the lake. The final night was spent in Garuda Plaza Hotel in Medan again before we fly back to Kuala Lumpur.

(Arriving at Medan Kualanamu International Airport)

(Our transport for the day and to Lake Toba)

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia. The city is bordered by Deli Serdang Regency to the east, south, and west, and the Strait of Malacca to the north.

(Ready for the day tour)

(Visiting museums and palaces)

(Photo opportunities at the museum)

(Maimun Palace, one of the historical palaces in Medan)

(The interior of the palace and museum)

There are many older buildings in Medan that still retain their Dutch architecture. These include the old City Hall, the central Post Office, the Water Tower, which is Medan City's icon, and Titi Gantung - a bridge over the railway. There are several historic places such as Maimun Palace, where the Sultan of Deli lives, and the Great Mosque of Medan built in 1906.

(Medan Great Mosque - Masjid Raya Al-Mashun)

The next day, very early in the morning we travelled to Lake Toba. There were several options to get to Lake Toba from the city of Medan. The most convenient is the public transports, bus, taxi or train. For our convenience, we rented a van with a driver to transport us to Lake Toba. A Malay couple and their daughter joined us on that trip.

The trip to Parapat via Berastagi took us almost five hours with a few stops along the narrow winding road. The journey was slow as the old rented van was struggling to manage sharp inclines and hairpin bends. The road began levelling when we were nearing the crater of the volcano. Lake Toba is what is left of a huge volcano that erupted near 100,000 years ago. 

From Parapat, we took a ferry to Samosir Island. Also known to the locals as Danau Toba - the giant lake sits at an altitude of 800 meters, and is 100 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide. The lake is situated in the caldera of the huge Toba volcano which erupted about a decade ago. The eruption of Toba was one of the most massive eruptions ever on Earth. The eruption probably lasted two weeks until finally the volcano collapsed and formed the caldera which is now Danau Toba.

(The ferry ride to Samosir Island)

(Ja is nervous to ride the ferry)

The bottom of the volcano rose and formed the island of Samosir which is beautifully situated in the middle of the blue waters of Toba. Danau Toba is a must see of Sumatra. The beautiful Danau Toba was absolutely breathtaking. 

(Visiting souvenir shops)

(Historical sites on the island)

(A guided tour on the island)

(The Batak village and their community)

(At a Batak village on Samosir Island)

(Dinner time at Toledo Inn)

Next morning we joined a large group to visit some attractions around Lake Toba. Sipiso-piso Waterfall is one of the tourist attractions. This waterfall is located in the hills with an altitude of about 800 meters above sea level and is surrounded by pine forests. With a height of about 120 meters, Sipiso-piso Waterfall is one of the highest waterfalls in Indonesia. It has become one of the most popular tourist attractions for domestic and foreign tourists.

The view point is at the top of the hill overlooking the beautiful scenery of Tanah Karo and Samosir Island in the middle of Lake Toba.

(Our hotel by the lake)

(A nice view of Lake Toba)

(Waiting for the Wisata bus)

(Joining a big group for a day tour)

(Visiting Si Piso-piso waterfalls)

(A Cultural village)

(The interior of a heritage house)

(Our three children, Sara, Iwan and Ja)

(Ja under the kolong)

(A replica of a boat)

(The kids were having fun)

(Mirwan Ashran with a scary mask)

(The kids are having a great time together)

(Buying buah salak at the market)

(Back at the hotel - exhausted)

(Time for dinner, the weather was cool)

(A stroll in the garden after dinner)

On the last day at Lake Toba, we checked out early and boarded the ferry back to Parabat where our van was already waiting to drive us back to Medan. We reached Medan early afternoon, ample time for the children to go for a swim in the pool.

Although it was a very short holidays, it was worth spending quality time with our three beautiful kids.

(Early morning departure to Medan)

(Spending a night at Garuda Plaza Hotel)

(Free and easy in the hotel)

(Having a deep in the pool on a humid afternoon)

(Garuda Plaza Hotel in Medan - Goodbye!)

👈 1992: Madinah, Saudi Arabia 

1991: Tiwana, Mexico 👉