Syria

Sunday, 20-JUL-2008 was a very exciting day for me.

I woke up early morning around 0430 hours (London – UK) , got ready to go to Heathrow Airport / Terminal 3 and by 0730 hours I was ready to board the SYRIAN AIR (Flight RB-410) to DAMASCUS.  As the aircraft flew around 0900 hours, it landed into Damascus International Airport at 1540 hours local time – after approximately 04 hours 40 minutes of flight from London (UK).

Upon arrival at my destination and after clearing Immigration & Customs, I was transferred to my reserved Hotel ”Al-Hussain Residence” which is in the countryside of Damascus and is approximately “30 minutes drive or less” from the Airport.

My journey to this Middle Eastern Country was touristic and religious too and I considered myself very lucky to visit Damascus  for the purpose of visiting the 2 Shrines and  paying my respects to:

1 – The Esteemed Lady Sayeda Bibi *ZAINAB (S.A), the Grand daughter of our Holy Prophet MUHAMMAD- MUSTAFA (S.A.W.W) and the beloved Daughter of Imam ALI Bin ABITALIB (A.S.) and Sayeda Bibi FATEMA-ZAHRA (S.A.).  and being one of the sisters of Imam Al-HASSAN (A.S.) and Imam Al-HUSSEIN (A.S.)

The Shrine of Sayeda Zainab’s is one of the landmarks of the Syrian Capital with a golden dome housing the Tomb of the great *personality who valiantly dedicated her whole life to assist and support her brother Imam Al-Hussain (A.S.) for the cause of Islam 1400 years ago.   The shrine is located southwards approximately 5 to 10  miles away from the International Airport in the area well-known as “Zainabia”.

2 – The Beloved Daughter of H. Imam Hussain (A.S.) well known as Sayeda Bibi ROQAYA (also known as SAKINA Bint-ul-HUSSAIN).  Her Shrine is located in the heart of Damascus.

Following is the picture of the interior of  the above Shrine and the person (3rd from left) is myself with my other friends and relatives.

The interiors of both the shrines are very beautifully decorated and they represent the aesthetic values of modern Islamic architecture enriching the Islamic and world heritage to the fullest extent.

Besides the Shia Muslims, a great many people from other Islamic Sects and/or other Non-Muslim Religions do visit the Holy Shrines in Damascus and such a huge swarm of people is a solid proof of great reverence for the *Divine Progeny (Ahlal-Bayt) of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW).  All the visitors who either tour or pay homage to such Holy places  are certainly well aware and very knowledgeable of history that records and recounts  the sanctity of such *personalities as being an essential attribute of true and exemplary Muslims in the whole Islamic era.

In the vicinity of this shrine in old Damascus, there is a very big market / bazaar popularly known as “Souq-al-Hamidiyya“ comprising of many shops lined together in two rows opposite each other in a lane that leads towards the Omayyads Palace  which is now one of the largest  mosques in Damascus or elsewhere in the world.   All these ancient sites on this avenue bring back sad memories of “Olden Days Shaam” nearly 14 centuries ago narrating tales of the “Tragedy of Kerbala and the Aftermath of Ashura Day” that took place on the 10th of Muharram 61 years After Hijrah (approx. on 09 or 10-OCT-680) in the Valley of Kerbala, Iraq.

The following picture of the Omayyad’s Palace (now a renowned mosque) was taken by myself in the afternoon around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 22-Jul-08.

The above mosque is a tourist attraction and a very ancient monument dating back thousands of years.

Finally, after a week of of my fabulous trip to Damascus I repatriated back bringing with me sweet memories of my journey and a great desire to visist the Marvellous Syrian Capital of Damascus and the Holy Places every now and then.