Mecca Off The Beaten Path

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Jabal Nur Is About 3km From Masjidil Haram. There's A Cave In This Mountain Called 'The Cave Of Hira ' Where Prophet Muhammad s.a.w Received The First Revelation.
Depending On One Person Stamina, It'll Take Some Time To Reach To The Cave Though . It Will Take At least One Hour To Climb This Mountain.

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Hudaibiyah Or Now Known As Al - Syumaisi Is One Of The 'Miqat' For Umrah. If You Are Here, Don't Forget To Visit The Camel Farm To Taste Or Buy The Super Delicious Camel's Milk! This Is One Place Worth Visiting.
An Important Event In Islamic History Happened Here A Long Time Ago During The 'Rise Of Islam' Called 'The Treaty Of Hudaibiyah'. For More Information, Visit http://www.islaam.com or http://www.islamicnetwork.com

ASSALAMU ALAIKUM(VA)

I HAD BEEN TO THE HOLY PLACE OF MECCA & MADHINA (THIS YEAR FOR PERFORMING UMRA)

ITS REALLY AMAZING PLACE, I WAS REALLY DELIGHTED ONLY AFTER SEEING THESE TWO PLACES, I THANK THE ALMIGHTY ALLAH FOR ALL HIS DEEDS,INSHA ALLAH EVERY ONE SHOULD PERFORM HAJ & UMRA ,AAMEEN.

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This is where pilgrims live in tents for several days before the eid, and while they do the stoning of the devil. .The tents are no longer made of canvas but of fireproof material after the fire that took place a few years ago. Pilgrims are in camps according to their place of origin and each camp is well marked for easy identification. Men and women are segregated, and a tent holds about a dozen people lying on mattresses on the ground, cheek by jowel.
According to the different organizers, food is either paid for in advance, or bought as and when. Toilet facilities are quite good, but are shared by large numbers of people, not all of whom are 'toilet trained'. So you cannot afford to be sensitive to dirt and smells.

The Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), the last prophet, was born in Makkah in the year 570 CE.

The place where the Prophet was born is now marked by a disused library. There are no signs to express this historic sight.

To be frank I was a little dissappointed to see how run down the building was. But after talking to some people I learnt that if the government make it too nice and label it, some people may end up praying here, or to the site. This would clearly be against all tradition and in fact would be "Shirk" or "polytheism".

mecca is a very dry land. and their way to grow trees is very interesting.
each tree got its own tap, so it always get enough water to grow. i imagine how expensive the maintenance for a tree only. but it worth for the greenery.

In many instances , people dont even get close to doing this.

If its crowded , go early for Asar, about an hour or so.
U will see a line start forming , join the line. before Asar , the guards will only allow those ppl in the line to kiss the black stone.

It works so well

Its really a shame to see this monstrosity of a Palace overshadowing the beautiful harem.

What's is even more sad is that the custodians knocked down an historic and great mosque. The mosque of Bilal, used to rest at the top of this once humble hill.

They knocked down the mosque after the initial Palace was built due to security reasons.

Notice also that the gate of Masjid al-Haram facing the palace has only one minaret , instead of the usual two. This is because it was blocking the King's view of the Kaabah from his bedroom.

If you are caught taking pictures in Makkah its quite serious offence, but if you get caught taking pictures of the Palace dont be surprised if you end up in big trouble.

Always carry your passport with you. Try to carry the number of your consulate/embassy of your origin in the locality you are in too!