Maximising every opportunity in these Holy Cities was key. When would we have such an opportunity again? This morning, Asif and I left met in the lobby and left early for the Haram, to find a place to pray Fajr under the open skies. I had only slept 3-4 hours, yet I felt so awake! It was only the second day, and it felt miraculous to be running on some sort of divine energy!

The time for prayer was 4:40AM, and after praying, I moved to get a good view of Jannatul Baqi. There behind Baqi, behind the walls of the blessed cemetery, was a breathtaking view of the sunrise. As the sun rose, the umbrellas in the Haram began to open, providing shade to the thousands that were walking to and from the Masjid of the Holy Prophet (S). Such scenery, I felt I could sit here forever! I met up with Asif and we then headed back to the hotel for breakfast.

And what a breakfast! There were hot paratha’s that I would drizzle honey over, and have with a cup of strong black tea. But it wasn’t just the food. That time of the morning in the lounge was also a time to socialise and catch up with others who were in the group. This particular morning, I was surprised when I saw a few familiar faces! My dad’s cousin had come from Edmonton, and I also met a friend that was living in Orlando before she got married. It was nice to catch up. What was intended to be a quick half hour in the breakfast lounge (so that I could then go sleep) ended up being well over an hour of chatting, and sharing stories. At 8:00am, I made my way to my room to rest before the time for Dhuhrain prayers would set in. These power naps were simply needed in order to function and whilst I probably didn’t value them as much at the moment, I knew I’d savour every moment at the most crucial stages of this journey.

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We were here. In Madinah.

After a tiring flight, we finally landed at Madinah Airport at around 1:40am. The airport seemed very quiet, and we cleared security in no time. The Arab lad sitting behind the counter checking my passport asked me 3 times if I was a Pakistani. He wasn’t quite convinced when I told him I wasn’t! After a few checks and stickers and stamps, we finally got to baggage claim where our luggage came really quickly. It honestly felt like we were the only flight that had come in to this airport. Maybe we were…

Mustafa Mama and Mehbub Uncle, who had flown in a few days prior, were waiting for us at the airport in the arrivals lounge. Despite a long flight, and a stopover in Cairo, I still felt quite fresh and awake. Around 3:00am we boarded the bus that was going to take us to our hotel, but because our group had carried boxes of medication from UK, they would take a while to clear customs. In the meantime, we socialised on the bus and took short power naps. It was tough…not knowing how long the wait would be! It was more of ‘take the moment as it comes’, which I definitely was not used to! At around 4:10am we saw Imran coming out of the main entrance. This meant meant we would soon be on our way, since he was in charge of ensuring the medications all cleared customs successfully.

The bus began to move, and the anticipation of seeing the Haram began to erase whatever remains of tiredness there was. Our hotel was 20 minutes away, and quite near the Haram, which meant that as we got nearer, we would be able to see the Haram. Just as that thought crossed my mind, A volunteer pointed out that we could see the Minarets of the Holy Mosque of the Holy Prophet (s) in the distance. My heart skipped a beat and I felt butterflies. I was in Madinah! I just could not wrap my head around that!

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