A room with a view....or not...,,

Hello bloggers and stampers

Wow, it's been a busy,tiring, yet spiritually rewarding adventure this far.

We have had stumbles and ups and downs but I would so do this again if given another opportunity Inshallah ( God Willing).

Today I decided I had to show you the view from our hotel room. This place is a hive of construction at the moment with new hotels going up all the time and of course the ever expansion of the haram which is the mosque in Mecca where the Kaba is. I believe that it's been found to be the centre of the earth....so I guess perhaps that's why there is such an attraction to this place for Muslims all over the world. I just love this diversity, each waqt (prayer time) you have the opportunity to meet another sister from a different part of the world. Even though we don't speak the same language and understanding each other is very difficult, it somehow is amazing that just by knowing some words of Arabic, which we have in common, like Inshallah ( if God so wills) Mubarak (congratulations or something to that effect Lol) we can have a conversation and learn a bit about each other and where we come from. there seems to be a kind of kinship that I haven't experienced travelling to other parts of the world.

The view we have is not spectacular but worth capturing anyway just cause I want to remember it and also would like to share it with you all.

Hope you all have a blessed and spectacular day.

Much love
Hugz

Shamela

1am in Medina tranquility and peace

Hello bloggers

Last night we had the opportunity to visit our beloved Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) grave. One would say it was organised chaos, with literally hundreds of people all wanting to be in the same place at the same time.

It is a practise of visiting guests to pay respects and to pray a voluntary prayer for the Prophet (PBUH).

I take my hat off to the ladies who organised the visit so that each country had an opportunity to pay their respects. This is not easy as there are of course the patient pilgrim who is willing to wait their turn and there are those who are impatient.

It was a wonderfully spiritual and uplifting experience and I am so grateful that we have been afforded this opportunity.

Here are some pics I took between 1 and 2 am this morning as we walked back to our hotel. Here you have a feeling of safety that we have lost many years ago in South Africa. Never in our wildest dreams would we be walking around with cell phones, iPads And camera's at this time of night.

There are always people around - workers visitors and residents - I am starting to wonder if they ever sleep LOL.

Hope you are all well. We leave for Mecca on Tuesday so please keep us in your Duahs (prayers) so that we may have a safe journey and that we are in good health to complete our Umrah inshallah (God willing).

Hugz

Shamela

It feels so surreal being here

The last time Shafeek and I were here was in 1999 - 13 years ago.... amazing how developed this place has become

That old world charm has been somewhat lost with skyscrapers and more developments, but set foot in the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) mosque and you feel a sense of tranquility and peace.

I was quite emotional just sitting there absorbing all the sights and sounds. It is so unreal, I am so eternally grateful to have been granted another opportunity to make this journey and pray that this is not my last. I know that sounds greedy, but once you have been here once, there seems to be a magnetic force which draws you here again.

It has always been a wish of mine to be here and share this wonderful place with my parents and family. I am here with my husbands brothers and sister so maybe in a way my wish has been granted, perhaps I should have been more specific when I wished it .... LOL...

That's it for now, hope to post some pics later

Have a wonderful day further

Hugz

Shamela

More pics

I am adding pics of my room - it's comfortable and has 2 queen beds in it.

I am exhausted - first voluntary prayers of the day is from 4 am and obligatory prayers is about 04.56. It is called Fajr.

I have arrived in medina

Hello fellow crafters.... We have finally arrived in Medina. We left South Africa on Sunday evening and have need travelling non stop since then.

Travelling through this part of the world requires lots of patience or (Sabr) as it is known in Arabic.

We arrived in Dubai and had to rush through customs checks where you are required to remove all shoes, jewellery, belts etc. Of course not speaking the language is a stumbling block, but fortunately there are English speaking people around and my brother in law understands and speaks the language a bit.

We are in desperate need of a shower and sleep.... but have been patiently waiting to be issued keys to our rooms

Will hopefully post pics of our rooms and the place as soon as I ha e some time.

Keep well all

Hugz

Shamela

Tim Holtz Tag canvas "friends"

Yesterday was hectic so I didn't have much time to blog. I am leaving for a visit to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina on Sunday and will try to keep you abreast of my travels both here and on Facebook. in the meantime, here are a few pics of my completed canvas. I took it with my iPad sonthey are not top notch quality, but hoping you will get the idea of the finished canvas.

The tags on the canvas was made with Belinda Basson @ a class about two weeks ago.

Until next time

Stamping hugz

Shamela ;-)

Sending you a bunch of flowers

It was my friend Lynn's birthday earlier this month so I made her a birthday card with the most gorgeous cling stamp from Penny Black designed by Mo Manning. This girl was so much fun to color. ( I think I have one left on the shelf @ www.kanjekrafts.co.za) my website is still a work in progress but it is operational so there are still hiccups.

I used my Promarkers, and I think I am slowly getting the hang of using them. It's alot more difficult than I anticipated, one has to have a good grasp of using the right colors together.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my latest card....I just completed a canvas over the weekend and will try to post pictures soon.

Have a wonderful week.

Hugz

Shamela