Day 12: Damascus, Syria

Wednesday, 19th March 2008:

Today we packed lotsa food for the road. Tapi sebelum jalan kami begambar dulu.

With Uncle Din, dreber (orang kuat) di Jordan.

Masa perjalanan, Muz'im inda beranti becakap & menyanyi alllll the way, sangal jua melayan. Inda mau tidur.

An hour later, we were at the border. Took lots of pictures and did a bit of shopping at the Duty Free in Dar'aa, Syria.

Muz'im payah kan bisai begambar.. di suruh posing, bagi nya punggung tah pulang! The duty free is at the background.

First stop: Souk El-Hamidieh - A Bazaar right in the heart of Old Damascus. You can find everything here from beautiful textiles, wedding accessories, houseware and even yummy shwarmas! I love it here.. anything for a good bargain. We went back to the car with hands full of goodies.

"Abang-abang" di bawah ani sengaja di suruh posing untuk Azian, Izzah, Izun, Erah, Ayu dan selanjutnya...Before we went in the market area, there was a procession of men & horses parading in commemoration of the Maulud Nabi SAW. Meriah di sini.. besar-beasaran celebration nya.

Then we went back to what we do best.. more visits:

The Roukiyyah Mosque - A Shiite Mosque, it holds the Shrine of Saiyida Roukiyyah, the granddaughter of Nabi Muhammad SAW (PBUH). The whole place looked grand.

Maqam NabiAllah Yahya (John the Baptist) (Peace be upon him) within the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus . The mosque was initially a church, I can still see the original architecture and the mosaics. The tomb of Saladin (Salahuddien - Pahlawan Islam) stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

The label on NabiAllah Yahya's shrine mentioned that it is only the head of Yahya (Alaihissalam) that was found when the mosque was being refurbished during the Umayyad period. Others claim that the head of Yahya (John) Peace be upon him, is housed in the crypt below a mosque in the old city of Sebastiya near Nablus, and still others claim the head was buried at Muwakir, site near the Jordan river.

We wrapped the day with a visit to Kassioun Mountain, to view the whole city of Damascus after sun down. We went there straight after dinner, dalam pukul 8.30 malam.

The mountain had a sacred significance to the people of Damascus and it was associated with lots of fictitious romances. It contains a lot of archeological and sanctuary places and rises about 1200 meters above sea level. The name Kassioun comes from the desolate nature of the mountain. Buildings expanded in Damascus and reached the foot of the mountain.

The cold wind tonight really bites! Despite that we manage to smile and take some photos... cheers!

We're definitely tired now. Isuk lagi sambung. Miss everyone.. see you in a few days :)