Travelog Umrah Day 8 & 9

Around 8 am I went to a pharmacy near the hotel to get a stronger cloth bandage. I put some ointment on my right foot and wrapped it tightly. By 10.30 when we went to complete our Tawaf Wida' around, my foot was almost pain free and I managed to complete the 7 rounds in less than an hour. As I was walking to the nearby zamzam containers I gave the Ka'abah one last glance and prayed In Sha Allah, I will be back. We then walked back to the hotel, bring down all our luggage, had lunch, prayed Zuhr and was down at the lobby waiting for our bus to Madinah. We left Makkah around 3 pm. 

On the way to Madinah, we had free dinner at one of the Yaman Restaurant along the highway.
This is supposed to be shared by 5 people, plus we took some additional fish and chicken :-)

The pic said it all - how wonderful it was hahaha

By 10.30 we'd already settled down in our hotel rooms. Once showered my sis and I went down to Masjidil Nabawi to pray. Agreeable that the mosque is beautiful, Subhanallah and distance wise, is only about 200 m from the hotel Alhamdulillah, but I somewhat feel a little bit lost. After a whole week, being in an open concept mosque - a super mosque that is Masjidil Haram, praying direct to the Ka'abah, Masjid Nabawi felt rather confined. Granted, it is so well organised, the mosque caretakers had carefully segregated the female and male sections, even sections of those with children sections through specific doors, or blocked sections, but I felt like I'm questioning myself. After a week in Makkah I kinda miss the 'chaotic' environment of Masjidil Haram. I immediately prayed my feelings will go away. 

Modern - The gate boards

Segregated...

Madinah as a whole is way far organised, peaceful and cleaner than Makkah. Shopping wise it's far more tempting, because of its strategic planning of the location of the mosque, the hotels and the shops. This is what Makkah is trying to emulate with its current major development. Weather wise, it's also a little bit colder than Makkah. It's definitely two contrasting states.

The next morning, after breakfast, we waited for Ustazah Hamidah to lead us to Raudhah visiting the Prophet. We were the last group to enter Raudhah that morning before they closed it for Jum'ah prayer. Alhamdulillah, I think everyone in the groups managed to offer their salams, solat and say their du'as, one good thing being the last, there's not much people hassling and rushing you. It's one of the happiest day in my life and so... I fell in love. If I could tell the world, I would :-)

The sight of Raudhah...

Dusk in Masjid Nabawi

Post Asr and Isya is shopping time. We didn't buy anything in Makkah, so it's 'payback' time ;-) The best thing about shopping in Madinah, most of the shopkeepers can speak some basic Malay. So it's like being in Malaysia, at times hehe...