Thanks Roommates!!!

Salam.

I have been home since Saturday, and I’m already back to work. Alhamdulillah, I didn’t face any major difficulties during my one month stays in Mecca and Madinah. I completed all the rituals as required with minimal difficulties. I have to thank my hubby, who was there all the time to assist me also my four room mates in Mecca and Madinah. They are wonderful people. Only Allah can repay their kindness.

I was glad that my roommates and I clicked immediately even though all four of us came from different background and age. In Mecca, two of my roommates were housewives, while the third roommate is a manager, but we are all equal.

The youngest in the room was 38 years old, but we called her Ustazah Kecil or Cik Yam Turkiye. The first nickname was because of her know ledges in Islam, while I’m not sure how the second nickname came about. Even though she the youngest, she is not afraid to give advised or shared her knowledge when it deems to. She is also very helpful and caring.

The oldest in the room was 54 years old and a Datin (equivalent to Lady). Eventhough, she is a Datin, she’s very humble and down to earth person. We respect her not only because she is older than us, but because of her involvement in the society. She also liked to share with us about her kids and her grandchildren. Oh ya! she was awarded AMN (Ahli Memangku Negara) for her leadership in BAKAT.

My other roommate is also highly knowledgeable in Islam, and between her and the Ustazah Kecil, I learned a lot. Hehehe....... She is also an IT savvy, so I don’t feel like a geek there. Since she works for Kelantan government, it was very interesting to understand what was really happening there. Among the four of us, she would be the first to head to the mosque at 3.30am in the morning. Sometimes she stayed at the mosque from 12am until 7.20pm. I admired her for her determination to stay in the mosque even though our hotel, which is Hotel Royal Eiman, is only 80 meters from the Baitullah.

We were in Mecca for three weeks and nine days in Madinah. Datin didn’t join us in Madinah as her husband has some urgent works that need his attention. The night before she flew home, we had pizza for dinner, thanks to Datin.

Since Datin didn’t join us in Madinah, we have a new room mates. Actually we already knew her in Mina. She is as good as Yam Turkiye in term of her knowledge in Islam, but a little bit reserve in sharing her knowledge. She would join the discussion when we asked her. She also clicked well with the three of us. In Madinah, she was also the earliest to get up and get ready to mosque. Normally, she would leave the room by 3.40am.

In Madinah, we stayed at Movenpick hotel, which was only 30 meter from the mosque, but due to limited space for women to pray in the mosque, she and the other lady would leave early so that they can pray inside. For me and Yam Turkiye, we normally left our room, earliest by 4.45am, and we would be praying outside under the open sky and cold weather.

In Madinah, I’m the oldest in the room, and Yam Turkiye is the youngest, but she played the role of a big sister to all of us. We didn’t spend all our time praying, or reading Quran. We also have time to shop, and most of time, we did our shopping in the morning or after dinner.

My roommates are good at shopping. They know where to hunt for good things, and they know how to bargain. Every time they came back from shopping, they would show to us what they had buy and how much. Sometimes I just smile looking at them.

The best thing shopping in Mecca and Madinah is that, the shop people speaks Bahasa Melayu, and it made it easy for us to bargain. At first I was surprised to hear them conversing and bargaining in Bahasa Melayu, but after some time I also spoke in Bahasa Melayu to them.

Okay, I think I stop for now, and would continue tomorrow for more stories from my trip.

Salam.