25 May 2013:
Twenty four (24) Jemaah gathered at KLIA at 2000 hrs in preparation for a long
flight to Istanbul. Tuan Haji Mokhzar, Puan Serina Subuh and me organized the
luggage and passengers checked in. The “doa selamat” was recited by Tuan Haji
Mokhzar. TK 601 (Turkish Airline) took off on schedule at 2315 hrs. It was the
first inaugural flight of Turkish Airline from KLIA to Istanbul after a
periodical absence.
26 May 2013:
Arrived at Istanbul Atartuk Airport at 0535 hrs local time after ten (10) hours
non stop flight. After the Immigration and Custom formalities we were met by Mr
Kamel of Anthusa Travel and he would be our Tourist Guide for the duration of
our stay in Istanbul.
We headed for Sultanahmet
Square and had breakfast at one of the Café at the corner of the Blue Mosque.
We then walked over to the Hippodrome of
Constantinople. It was the circus and sporting centre of Constantinople of
the Byzantine Empire, a place for the horse and chariot racing.
Across the road we entered Sultanahmet Mosque or the famous Blue Mosque as it is widely known. A long line of tourists was
waiting to admire the interior beauty of the Mosque. This was my second time
into the Mosque and I performed two (2) rakaat of solat Tahyatul Masjid and two
(2) rakaat of Dhuha. Non Muslims were not permitted to enter the praying
enclosure and they must, women and men alike must abide to the covering of
aurat.
Continuing our walking expedition, we passed by Hagia Sophia or Aya Sofya. We did not enter Hagia Sophia but admired the exterior
architecture. It was a Church until 1453 when the Ottoman conquered
Constantinople and converted to a Mosque. From 1935 Hagia Sophia was turned to
a Museum.
Final destination before lunch was the Tokapi Palace or Tokapi
Museum. Topkapı Palace was
the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for
approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign. It is now a major
tourist attraction and contains important holy relics of the Muslim world,
including the Holy Prophet Muhammed's (pbuh) cloak and swords. Topkapı
Palace is among the monuments contained within the "Historic Areas of Istanbul", which became a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 1985. Following
the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Topkapı Palace was transformed by a
government decree dated April 3, 1924 into a Museum of the imperial era. The Palace
includes many fine examples of Ottoman architecture. It contains large
collections of porcelain, robes,
weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic
calligraphic manuscripts and murals,
as well as a display of Ottoman treasures and jewelry.
We had a good tour of Tokapi Palace, saw the belongings of
the Holy Prophet and then walked down the road about three (3) kilometers away
for lunch at Bukhara Restaurant – Turkish lunch.
Finally
got into the Coach and went to The Fatih
Mosque or Conqueror's Mosque - an Ottoman imperial Mosque located in the Fatih district of Istanbul. It was one of the largest
examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represented an
important stage in the development of classic Turkish. It is named after Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the Ottoman Sultan who captured Constantinople in 1453. We performed our solat jamak of zohor and asar here.
Last tour of the first day
was The Eyüp Sultan Mosque. Built
in 1458, it was the first Mosque constructed by the Ottoman Turks
following the Conquest
of Constantinople in 1453.
The Mosque rises next to the place where Abu Ayyub
Al-Ansari , the standard-bearer of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), is said to have
been buried during the Arab
assault on Constantinople in
670. His tomb is
greatly venerated by Muslims,
attracting many Pilgrims. Some of the personal belongings of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) are preserved in the building that houses the tomb. Some of us rendered
our doa and alfathihah at the Tomb of Ayub Al Ansari and adjourned for solat
tahyatul Masjid at the Mosque.
By now are were dead tired, decided to skip an organized
dinner, instead checked in to Hamidiye Hotel for a good rest. I laid my head on
the pillow and woken up at 2300 hrs. Felt hungry and I went downstairs, luckily
a Café was still in business and got myself a Turkish kebab for dinner.
27 May 2013: Buffet
breakfast at 6th Floor Restaurant of the Hotel. The balcony has a
panoramic view and some recorded their presence.
Another long day today and off on the Coach to the coast by
the Bosphorus Straits. The
Bosphorus, which connects the Sea of
Marmara to the Black Sea, divides the city of Istanbul. We took a two deck ferry boat and
cruised along the Bosphorus enjoying the coastline of Istanbul, the European
and the Asian continent. We cruised as far as under the Galata Bridge that
joins Europe and Asia. On the way back to Port, some could not stand the rough
waves and got sea sick. I felt about the same, quickly rushed to the lower deck
and had Turkish tea.
The next stop
is Jacket Leather Factory. We had show time where models showed us how
nice and beautiful the jackets are. We were not short of models too and Annuar
and Shahreeza went on stage. At the end of the afternoon, we were not convinced
to buy any as those jackets are not conducive for our climatic conditions.
Lunch was at Dersaadei
Restaurant by the Mirmara Sea. Mr Fatih CAMLICA, Managing Director of
Anthusa Travel joined me for lunch and I had to hand him a packet from
Almukminin Travel & Tours.
From now on was
shopping time and the first was the Spice Bazaar. We were given an hour
to browse through the various stalls. We picked up some souvenirs, T shirts,
replica, fridge magnets and anything for presents to love one back home. We
performed solat jamak zohor and asar at the Mosque near the Spice Bazaar –
Rustem Pasha Mosque. The blue tiles are really astonishing.
Final
destination of the day was the Grand bazaar and we were given two (2)
hours to finish our Liras in Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is the
oldest covered market in the world with 3000 shops and about to 400,000
visitors per day. It is the landmark of Istanbul besides the Blue mosque and it
is a must to all tourists that came to Istanbul. You can get almost anything
under one roof and no problem getting your way out as everybody can show
direction. Tourism is the core business here. Though it was my second time
here, I still dare not venture far covering the 3000 shops.
It was late in
the evening and we had dinner at Keremkar Sofra Restaurant.
Back at the
Hotel, it was a Night of Free & Easy. Some went to the nearest Mosque to
join the local congregation for solat Maghreeb and Isyakh and some God knows
where they went. As long as they could find their way back to the Hotel, it was
no problem for me.
28 May 2013: Last Day in Istanbul. The
breakfast was as usual at 6th floor Restaurant. Checking out will be
at 1100 hrs and they were free to do whatever they like before that. Hazamin
& wife took a cab and entered Hagia Sophia. Some went round the corners to
do last minute shopping. I went to get some Turkish chocolates for my little
darling back home.
I put on my
under garment ihram and put on my jubah. I will remove the jubah and put on the
shawl at the Airport. I advised all men to carry their ihram inside their hand
luggage as we had to change to ihram at the very least at the Airport. For the
women they must hand carry their telekong. We checked out from the Hotel in time and the
Coach picked us up for lunch and finally the Airport.
We had lunch at
a designated Restaurant on the way to the Airport. After lunch someone
requested for a stopover at a Mosque to put on the ihram and solat sunat ihram.
Kamel the Tour Guide informed that there is no Mosque along the way but he got
a room at the Restaurant for the men to change to the ihram. It was nice of him
and some men changed. Time was unnecessarily wasted.
At the Airport,
checking in was swift with an assistance of one crazy Turkish Saudi Airline
personnel. He kept on repeating assalamualaikum. By 1400 hrs, we were all done
with. However, Saudi Airline insisted that we have an outward ticket from Saudi
Arabia as Saudi ruling there will be no one way ticket into Saudi Arabia. Once
inside the Departure Hall, everybody was scrambling for the Prayer Room. I
changed to a full attire of ihram and performed the solat sunat ihram and solat
jamak zohor and asar. What astonished me, some men in the entourage did not put
on the full attire of ihram but performed the solat sunat ihram. What for? What
solat sunat ihram when one is not wearing the ihram? They even boarded the
plane with the under garment and wearing normal shirt or T shirt. They did not
put on the shawl.
SV 256 took off
from Istanbul to Jeddah at 1515 hrs. The
fun in Istanbul was over and now spiritually obligated towards umrah. Sometimes
after takeoff and the plane were heading towards Jeddah, I went down the aisle
to remind them to put on the full attire of ihram.
The passengers
who were destined to perform the umrah were reminded to recite their niat umrah
vide the plane PA system. The miqat point is about an hour flight from Jeddah. I
hope my entourage at the back performed accordingly as I was getting fed up to
do any supervision anymore. They are not small boys and I am sure they are more
knowledgeable and religiously acquainted about umrah rituals more than me.
So be it, it’s their money spending coming all the way for umrah. If they
miscarriage any compulsion within the rituals of umrah, they alone answerable
to Allah.
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