The Grand Mosque

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:43:44 PST

The Prophet's Mosque in Medina Munawarra is an extraordinary master piece of architecture crafted with pure dedication coupled with hard labor, uninterrupted flow of building material and incalculable amount of money spent. Artificial stones and bricks used in construction of the Mosque were made in factories located near Medina; Granite stone used in construction was taken from Saudi Arabian Desert in Najran area. Wood for making windows and doors was imported from Morocco; this wood is called “Sedar” and is regarded as one of the best wood all around the world, for making minor artifacts and minor things “Teak” wood has been used. Pure white marble stone has been used for making tiles and flooring of the mosque and has been imported from Italy. This marble stone is called “Karara” and has a natural quality to remain cool in hot conditions even under direct burning hot sun. In both the mosques white tiles of “Karara” marble have been excessively used, these stone tiles allow people to roam barefooted in the mosques with out feeling any heat. For decorating the walls and making ornamental designs expensive stones were imported from Kenya.

Masjid-e-Nabvi has an engineering marvel incorporated in its construction and that is the use of Floating Domes technique in the ceiling. A total of twenty-seven courtyards have been made in the mosque building and each has been covered with a floating dome. These domes have been specifically designed to evade suffocation by the pilgrims once the mosque is overcrowded. These domes can be moved from their places to let fresh air come in. This concept of floating domes was given during reconstruction of the mosque by Chief Architect of the project Doctor Kamal Ismael and were designed by a German Muslim engineer Mr Mehmood and the design was approved by than King Fahad Bin Abdul Aziz. For the benefit and comfort of pilgrims offering prayers in the courtyard of the mosque or out side the main building huge electronic umbrellas have been installed. When the sun is shinning at its peak these electronic umbrellas provide cool shade to the pilgrims sitting under them.

Masjid-e-Nabvi is centrally air-conditioned and the chilling unit for the mosque has been constructed outside the city and from there chilled air is pumped to the mosque through pipes. This whole cooling system is based upon cooling the air through chilled water. A comprehensive supply system for provision of Zamzam water has been established in the mosque and all pilgrims can take Zamzam water for personal usage from the supply point established. Zamzam water is provided within the premises of the mosque and is shipped from Makkah to Medina Munawarra through huge water tankers. Zamzam water is also available inside the mosque building in plastic water coolers. Big underground ablution / bath areas have been constructed around the main mosque and people can go to the areas by using stairs or escalators. Ablution / bath areas for men and women are separate.

Finding Food & Beverages in Saudi Arabia While Performing Hajj or Umrah

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:15:30 PST

In Madina Munawarra Pakistani food was available at Pakistani restaurants and was mostly cooked in olive oil thus giving an alien taste to our tongues. Although there was nothing much to do except praying and occasionally going to the market, still every one felt exhausted. Being tired and weary never allowed us to eat properly. In Madina Munawarra or Makkah one can easily find Pakistani, Indian or Bengali restaurants.

International restaurants brands like KFC, Mc Donald's, Pizza Hut and Dominos have their franchised branches operational there. A local brand Al-Bake restaurant is also operative on the lines of KFC, its branches are present in both the cities and its rates are also cheaper as compared to KFC while the service and quality of food is almost the same.

As far as variety in the food is concerned, almost all Pakistani restaurants offer a hefty quantity of dishes on their menu cards and are also reasonably priced as well. In Saudi Arabia bread (called Rotti in Urdu) is provided free of cost with curry, normally with one packet of curry three loafs of bread are provided, and extra, if required, can also be provided without any charges at few hotels. I found that mutton meal was cheaper than beef meal and beef BBQ products were more costly than chicken BBQ products. There one can easily buy a full BBQ or roasted chicken for just ten rayals where as a packet of beef / mutton curry would cost six rayals. Quantity of curry in a single packet is enough to serve three persons. At different shops and snack bars, fast food is also available and for a change in taste one can try Burgers (Beef/Chicken/Mutton), Fish and Chips, Shawarma (Arabic Dish), Milk Shake and Sandwiches.

As far as sweet dish or dessert is concerned Sweet Rice (Zarda) and Milk Rice Sweet (Kheer) are available at all Pakistani or Indian restaurants. I also found Pakistani sweet-marts in both the cities. One can do self-cooking as well if time is available, fresh vegetables and all qualities of meat are available in the markets at affordable prices and almost all hotels also provide the facility of electric stoves with each room or suit.

All types of 250 / 300 milliliters (ml) juices packs and cold drinks canes are sold at the rate one rayal each irrespective of the brand name. Fresh curd drink (called Laban there) is available at two rayals for a pack; during peak heat hours this curd drink not only gives a refreshing taste it also keeps the drinker cool. Best quality freshly packed milk is available at two rayals a packet and the packet is of five hundred milliliters. Smaller or larger packets of milk are also available in the market at different prices. Ice cream and packed cooked custard made with pure milk is also available in plenty at all grocery and general stores, shops and marts.

This packed custard is very helpful in feeding children who sometimes refuse to eat regular meals and is also available in different flavors, mostly at all shops I found it chilled. Drinking water is available at the rate one liter bottle for two rayals, two liters bottle for three rayals and five liters bottle for five rayals. We only bought bottled water for cooking food for our son or for making tea; otherwise we used Zamzam water for drinking purposes throughout our stay at Mecca and Medina Munawarra.

Dates are an essential gift that one should take along home after departing from Saudi Arabia. Mostly different qualities of dates are available at both the holy cities but the rates of dates are much reasonable at Medina Munawarra as compared to Mecca. Dates with prices ranging from five rayals a kilogram to eighty rayals a kilogram are available in almost all markets. Special individually packed dates, chocolate-coated dates, almond or pistachio centered dates, dried dates, dates coated with cashew nuts and date sweet-dish (Halwa) are also available in the markets.

Most expensive dates available in the market are Ajwa and Amber having price ranging between sixty rayals to eighty rayals. Ajwa date is good for health particularly heart and heart related diseases. Even the seed of this date, after grinding, is used as a medicine for curing certain heart related health problems.