Sunday, January 25th.
This morning I organized a group photo outside our meal tent. I was surprised that no one had yet requested a group photo. I thought it was about time, and since we’d been here for three nights it seemed like a good place. Today we had a long journey south to reach our next destination: Medina (Madinah is the literal translation from Arabic). The landforms changed from the sandstone mountains of Alula to metamorphic rock mountains of the Sarawat range that runs all the way to Yemen. We stopped at an old rail station that was built by the Ottomans who controlled the area before Saudi Arabia was unified. They built a 3000 km railway at great expense in this harsh and phenomenally remote location, from Damascus to Medina to transport religious pilgrims. Before that it took about 40 days by camel caravans and many people never made it, they either turned back or some died in the desert. The railway cut the trip to only 3 days. The rail line was attacked by Lawrence of Arabia during the First World War and many of the trains were destroyed. The Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of the war as they were allied with the Germans. The line fell into disrepair and the Arab tribes carried off the rails and ties for their own uses and the railway disappeared into history.
We continued our journey to Medina, arriving in the early afternoon. We drove past the official Koran printing company where millions of Korans are printed in many different languages. When we arrived we met our local guide Roola, at the first of the three mosques we visited. She is Saudi and her family has a very multicultural background. She is an associate professor of Dietary Health at a university and her husband is a high school teacher. Medina is the second holiest city in the Muslim world after Mecca. Non Muslims cannot visit Mecca, but as of 2021 as evidence of the more relaxed view of the state towards tourists, non Muslims can visit Medina, including the Prophet’s Mosque, but only from outside a fence that protects the faithful who are praying. The first mosque we visited was the Masjid Sayyid al-Shuhada Mosque, The area played a very important role in the history of Islam as it was here that there was a battle between believers and non believers. Our guide, Roola, gave us the complicated history and showed us Archers Mountain where we could climb to get a better vantage. Then we were allowed to enter the mosque and take photos. The inside was impressive in size and simplicity and beautifully decorated, much less ornate than mosques I have seen in other countries. While wandering around I met a family who were delighted to find I was from Canada because they were from Richmond Hill (just north of Toronto). Hassam or ‘Sam’ is a very warm and friendly man and we exchanged pleasantries. Then we drove to the second mosque, Masjid Quba, which was a large white mosque that again had a tastefully decorated interior. It was first built in the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE. It is thought to be the first mosque in the world established on the first day of his emigration to Medina. We were allowed to walk around watching the faithful and to take photos. Off to one side was a school with children being taught about their religion. Then Roola took us to a big fancy hotel for a toilet break but that was a bit of a debacle as the key they provided wouldn’t unlock the doors. It took a bit to sort that out before we continued to our last and most important stop: the Masjid-e-Nabawi, or the Prophet’s Mosque. It is the second mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina, as well as the second largest mosque and holiest site in Islam after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. It was very busy there with the faithful. We had to stay outside a metal fence but we could photograph the many minarets of the mosque and see the faithful as they were led through prayers. It was a very interesting and illuminating experience. On the opposite side of the street were a number of date shops and Roola secured us samples of different dates and treats including a delicious chocolate date. (to be continued…)
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