Madinah Moevenpick Hotel

Packing List

by nartjies

Keep packing to a minimum so that theres space to bring back lots of gifts and souveniers, or take an extra bag with. Good to take paracetamol, anti-diarrheals, etc as the names of the medicines you might need will be in arabic. a shoe-bag.

Jabal Magnit

by vayastra

I was not believe it myself for the first time the guide told us that this hills is contain a huge gravitation, until I saw it myself the water that I dropped in downhill area, instead heading down it was heading up!..jeezz..

The Jabal is in the middle of the desert. It was so hot, maybe only scorpion and camel live there. I saw some oasis but contains very few of water.

Don't forget sun block SPF 50!

The Old Bazar of Madina. Do...

by AliJoe

The Old Bazar of Madina. Do not count, if you just arrived yesterday or last five years...the
scenery of Old Bazar is almost the same. The walking's stall never change, crowded with seller and buyers.
Sometimes, the atmosphere and scenery just like in the Hollywood 's movie 'Ali Baba and the 40 thives '....
please do not worried, since Great KAMAL Khan is there...no one dare to become a thife ! (lol)
The first time in Arabic community, do not be surprise....they talk louder !! My Grandma in Hamburg sure will be fainted, she thought this guy is shouting at her ! (Lol). They are very frank...but 'robust'. My first time in SAUDI ARABIA, travel by coach from Jeddah I'ntl Airport to Madina. In the middle of the
journey one's of tyre burst. The bus driver and guide came from the bus. In one minute they start talking............. .the way they communicate like TIGER talk to LION. Waummm, EEmmm, king , kong, @#$% !! I bet, another two more minutes one of this guy will become Hamburger.....and the other one become Sausage Surprise !! In the middle of tence and suspense....this gentelmen start rubing and padding to each other BEARD.....I know the war is already started !! Alas ! Anticlimac. They laugh and start shake hand......their custom, rubbing beard mean ' hello buddy' .If this happened to Mr Michael Angelo , to General Custer or Mr Buffalo Bill.....' Make My Day '(Lol)

Medina al munawera

by yurxlnc

Like Mecca, Medina is a holy site for Muslems. Pilgrims flock here either before or after the hajj in order that they perform al -umra.
The feeling when walking for the dawn and other 4 prayers, and meeting up with thousands of others converging from all directions on the same place is indescribable. When you stand to pray wearing only two towels, you might be standing next to a prince or a paaper, an Afghan, Indonesian, or Zanzibari. But neither race nor colour counts. All are equal in the eyes of God [Allah}.

There is nothing to do, nothing to worry about. The days at Medina are pure relaxation. After the dawn prayers everyone goes to a tea or coffee stall to drink and have something to eat. Then back to bed or to visit some of the other sites- battlefield, mosques,or the tomb of the Prophet Mohamed. Then back to prayers, have lunch in one of the many restaurants, rest, pray, rest , pray, maybe have more tea , then the final prayers . After that look for a restaurant for supper, and maybe do some shopping.

Inside the mosque people do their obligatory prayers but often sit, sometimes for hours, praying, reading the Quran, or asking God for blessings.
The decoration of the mosque is beautiful, and the courtyard outside is white marble.

It is not compulsory to wear ahram at Medina until you are actually departing for Mecca. So,it can be quite colourful, especially the women: Sudanese women in bright tobes, West Africans in flowing robes and head-dresses, Indians and Pakistanis in their saris and shawal chemis.