andalusia

Cuak, cuak, cuak. Exam's coming and I'm publishing a post O_o

Firstly, I planned not to write that much cause my ASN, SF and REN are in dire need of being read. So, I'll just write as simple as I can.

Andalus, Spain

Adlan - Hosni - Syahmi - Ameer - Fikri - Ahmed - Syahir - Syamil - Adib

17-22 Dec 2010

Day 1, Gibraltar

 

Since the Leicesterians haven't arrived yet, we chose Gibraltar as our first stop.

Europa Point, Jabal Tariq (Gibraltar Rock), Tariq bin Ziyad, the southernmost mosque in Continental Europe, the day I learned to start using my DSLR extensively and how I wish I could go to Morocco!

Day 2, Granada

 

We went to the Granada Mosque, watched Alhambra from afar at night and had dinner at a restaurant where we met a brother from Morocco (lupe nak mintak nombor, hehe) and a lovely mak cik that allows us to have milkshakes included in our meals.

Oh yeah, we picked up the Leicesterians from Malaga Airport and headed straight to Granada afterwards. By the way, if you looked at the design featured in the Granada Mosque, you will actually see some resemblance with the arches at Mezquita in Cordoba.

Day 3, Granada

 

It's the day we go to Alhambra. 

Highlights include the pool which can reflect the moonlight, the court of the lions (thanks lah orang yang rosakkan!), the motto of Nasrid dynasty in Arabic calligraphy being written and sculptured all over the place and the encounter with a sweet lady by the name of Hope.

"...Don't you see how water overflows the borders 

and the warned drains are here against it? 

They are like the lover who in vain 

tries to hide his tears from his beloved..."

(I just love this part of the poem which was encrypted on the basin of the Court of the Lions)

At the Palace of Charles V (the only Christian building in the whole fortress), it was destined that we found Hope. Working in the museum, she offered us a tour and it was complimentary. And throughout the fine, expressive elucidations, I just can't deny that she somehow illustrated her izzah towards Islam, masyaAllah. And among the things which I could recall (that was originally from Islam) include the order that we dine during a meal (starting with soup and end with sweets) and even those platform shoes; that were the cutting edge of fashion at that time.  A short story on Ziryab was also presented to us by Mak Cik Izzah (yeap, I call her that). And Mak Cik Izzah was so overwhelmed by the crafts and artwork produced by the Muslim men as they were clearly made by meticulous hands. She even said that Muslim men prioritize cleanliness and they even have perfume for the mosque. Ok, this maybe a bit irrelevant but she said that white and blue had always been the colour of royalty. And I said to myself, "no wonder I love blue" :P 

Anyway, the main thing is, everything that we found out from this tour, it all traced back to Islam. Before we go, she asked us to translate her name to Malay and we said, "Harapan"...

Day 4, Cordoba

 

So, we then reached Mezquita where the once majestic mosque is now constructed with chapels at the sides and the middle is now filled with a cathedral. Even Mak Cik Izzah agreed that it is a shame really that the cathedral is built within the mosque. We did go to other places as well but my battery was low so there weren't that much of pictures. And also, a lot of places were closed on Mondays. Anyways, I just want to say to Ahmad Shahrul Kamal and Muhammad Hakim Razali that I don't really mind that I didn't go to you-know-where :P

Day 5, Sevilla

The Great Cathedral of Seville, Giralda (the remaining part of the Mosque which was a minaret, now a bell tower), Real Alcazar (the royal Moorish palace) and we even stopped at Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (a bullring; since Syahir said it was his childhood dream of going to the place).

Day 6, Malaga and adios

Didn't spend much time here. We stayed for a night at a hostel that uses my card as the key for all the rooms. Cool giler!

The next morning, we went to the beach despite the rain and wind that continuously making our paths more treacherous. And the beach? It was dainty. The black sands and the turquoise water served as a good ending to this journey of ours.

-END-

And so, that is it.

I know that Arabic is very useful cause apparently, some of the people that we met prefer to converse in Arabic after Spanish.

I know that Allah has blessed this place to be the location for the Umayyah Caliphate once upon a time.

I know that Muslims rule!

I know that there is Hope...and I know there is hope...