~1st of June, Last year in Egypt~

     Once upon a time, on an island called Mansoura, there lived a household of princesses. Each of them looked different from one another and had their own special character. Everyone helped each other to cope with everyday life. They weren't living like so not since 6 years ago when a magical twister happened to grab them by force and landed them on this island. Since then, they were trying to strive for survival by patching each others weak points with strong ones.

     That was how they had survived up till today. One evening, a mysterious storm broke as the girls were picking out raw materials for dinner. All of them hurried back to their tree-house except for one. She's one of the strangest one among the other princesses; named Ann. Without a care, she just strolled along the forest in search for food and by time eventually discovered that she was alone; finally. At first she panicked; but then she thought to herself that she could find her way back home in no time. Half an hour passed and the girls back in the tree-house started to worry. On the other hand, Ann decided that she'll sit out the storm by taking shelter under a large tree with dense leaves on it.


OK, enough with the fairy tale, i just wanted to create a scene for the given theme to my birthday party which was: A magical world of princesses :)  On the 29th of May, my friends planned a birthday party for yours truly ( real date of birth: 1st June) which was suppose to be a surprise. Unfortunately, I was sick that day (Allah knows what's best) and I couldn't even attend my daily lectures due to some circumstances.

My lovely fairies/princesses:

There were lots of delicious food (sorry, i don't have pictures of these) and lovely decorations and props (which by the way looked hard to make).

 




 Not to forget; the games! It was both trivial and embarrassing, but fun!

 
Alhamdulillah. As the saying goes: All's well that ends well :) The birthday party was one that i won't forget as it's also my last one here in Egypt and it was in combination with another "B" party ^_^
Thank you all for your hard work in planning and carrying out the party. syukran jiddan2~
The jar of letters full of wisdom:

Best friendship quote ever:

And a little addition:

(psst; it's a secret! that's why the picture is small xD )

Jordan Trip

Our journey started from 23rd January (12.30AM) till 2nd February 2014 (8.45PM). Just these 11 short days, many unforgettable moments occurred.

BONDS BUILT:

Baby steps; even upon arrival, we were amazed at how beautiful the people in Jordan spoke. It felt as if we were officially in an Arab country. Not to say that living in Egypt doesn't make us feel like so; it's just that the way Jordanians speak is more closer to the standard arabic written in the Quran. Talking to the residents of Jordan felt like solving a puzzle filled with eagerness trying to understand one another.

Friends of friends became very precious stating that even the smallest amount of time spent can be worthwhile. Getting to know each other and giving your very best is the key to a long lasting friendship. Prayers will never stop targeting the ones close to you at heart.

Our temporary house in Jordan belonged to Nasibahs’ little sister Naimah (coincidently, this is also the name of my house in Egypt) and her friends. It was a two story apartment, equipped with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a study room and a large living room. The house was warm and cozy as its design made the room look wide and spacious. There we ate, laughed, slept, argued and discussed our daily activities. It was the place where even if we travelled far, we’ll always come back there to settle in before our next trip. Its name is Beyt Irham.

We met Amira’s close childhood friend named Aini on our 1st day in Mu’tah and she was as sweet as pie. Even though she was busy preparing her own journey to visit the Creators’ house and our Beloved prophet’s hometown, her hospitality was to the maximum level and not less. We were brought to a Yamani restaurant that served a famous Malaysian cuisine called murtabak; which we bought for takeout’s and the drinks (milk tea with ginger and cinnamon bits) were on the house.  She also invited us to her house for a complete Malaysian set dinner which was scrumptious. Nevertheless, we had to part our ways for the next day we had to go on a trip set up by the student organization of Mu’tah (PERMATA). 

4-DAY TRIP (24th to 27th JANUARY):

It started off as a pleasant 4-5 hour ride by coaster to one of the well-known places to visit in Jordan. A problem arises when Egyptian student cards couldn't be used to enter Petra. Instead of paying just 1 JD to enter, we had to pay 50 JD like any other tourists. To our surprise, everyone on the trip agreed to help out by paying 5 JD per head instead of 1. We were both speechless and thankful for their willingness to help support us.

ROAMING MU'TAH:

Due to exhaustion from the previous trip, our 1st free day (28th JAN) was used up to recover from lethargy by sleep and moping around Beyt Irham. The following day (29th JAN) we roamed interesting sites of Mu’tah Al-Karak including the Mu’tah University, Ma’rakah Mu’tah (site of the battle of Mu’tah), Suk of Karak and 3 Maqam of sahabah Rasulullah whom were Zaid Ibn Harithah, Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib and 'Abdullah Ibn Rawahah (رضى الله عنهم).

According to hadith #639 from the Book of Funerals of al Tajrid al Sarih, “narrated by Anas bin Mâlik رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Zaid took over the flag and was martyred. Then it was taken by Jâ'far who was martyred as well. Then Abdullâh bin Rawâha took the flag but he too was martyred, and at that time the eyes of Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم were full of tears. Then Khâlid bin Al-Walid took the flag without being nominated as a chief (beforehand) and was blessed with victory.”

The battle of Mu’tah took place in the 8th year of hijrah. These 3 sahabah syahid during the battle and the one to hold the flag last was Khalid ibn Walid (رضى الله عنه) who was the cousin of Abdullah ibn Abbas (رضى الله عنه). All in all, thousands died from amongst the Ghassanid Arabs, only 12 (another narration said 15) died from amongst the Muslims.

REMAINING GOLDEN DAYS (31st JANUARY to 1st FEBRUARY):

We had a remainder of 4 days before our departure back to Egypt, so we decided to track our journey to nearby tourist attractions. Set upon a tight budget, we rented a car with a muroqib as a companion. We thought our pickup was the same as the one we rode on the first day from the airport. To our surprise, it was totally different and beyond our expectations. The car was a Hyundai H1, which was much more comfy and convenient to travel in.

A large bottle of mineral water was brought along to avoid dehydration during our long trip. Our targeted destination for that day was Ma’in Hot spring; but the first stop we made was at a place called Mujib Biosphere Reserve (wadi mujib). It is known to be the lowest nature reserve on earth and also one of the richest areas in Jordan for wildlife. Unfortunately, it’s closed during winter. Luckily we did get to enter up to the end of a connecting railway, and took some breathtaking photos among canyons.

Upon continuing our journey, we stopped for a while at Dead Sea Panoramic Complex to learn a little more scientific and historic information regarding the Dead Sea and its formation and surroundings. The panoramic viewpoint was spectacular. We took a couple of photos and set off to Ma’in. When we arrived, we took our leisure time relaxing in the hot spring. Before we know it, the sun was starting to set and we had to make a move.

Madaba was the city of choice in our trip for tomorrow so we booked Queen Madaba Ayola: Private Home Experience for our night stay. The next morning, to our surprise, the sweet muroqibs made us breakfast. We discussed the places we needed to visit over breakfast. Sightseeing around Madaba was all on foot because it’s all in walking distance except for Mount Nebo. We visited Madaba Archeological Park first off to see some amazing mosaic in its exhibition. Then we stopped to pray at Madaba Mosque where its building structure was an adaptation of Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey.

We hit the road and headed off to Mount Nebo which is famous among both muslims and non-muslims. There was lots of Christian influence at this site, so we focused more on the scenery. Our next destination was Amman so we had to take an early leave as the journey will be long. Before retiring for the night we visited 2 shrines; one belonging to the companion of our beloved prophet; Abdul Rahman bin 'Auf and the other belonging to prophet Yusha' bin Nun. We slept at one of our friend's house and turned in early for tomorrow's trip.

Our last day started early in the morning heading towards 'Ajloun Castle. It is one of known fortresses of Salah Ad-Din al-'Ayyubi; a famous figure in Islamic history. We learned a lot of strategies used for defense during war in ottoman period which can be clearly seen even till today in the structure of the fortress.Then we went searching for the shrine of Nabi Khidr. It was a long and adventurous search which ended with success, alhamdulillah.

Before returning back to Mu'tah, we visited Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and it's famous University Hospital named after King Abdullah 1; the founder of Transjordan. Not to forget, we also took a drive along the Ramtha Border of Jordan-Syiria and drove back home to Mu'tah. 

2nd FEBRUARY:

This date marks the day we say our goodbyes and farewell to Jordan. All memories will be kept and every bonds built will be cherished. Till we meet again inshaAllah.