abtravels

Zaha Buffet Breakfast

In my last post I talk about arriving in Madinah after taking the high speed train (so comfortable). I also talk about visiting the prophets mosque for the first time and seeing the green dome – surreal experience! If you haven’t read it yet, please do check it out! In this post I start with my buffet breakfast at Zaha which was in fact really lovely. A highlight of my entire journey was visiting the Dar Al Madinah museum which I describe extensively in this post. Let me know if you’ve ever visited and what you think on my thoughts here!

I woke up early the next morning in time for the buffet breakfast at the hotel. There was a lot more room than my hotel in Makkah although it would still fill up really quickly. There was also a wider selection of breakfast items which included roughly 5 hot meals, a bakery section, drinks and salad. The coffee and tea area consisted of instant coffee pouches that you’d have to mix in yourself, so it wasn’t ground coffee. The first morning I went down I had to queue up so that they could kind of check me in to make sure that I was entitled to the buffet breakfast. This was at a small desk right besides the lift which takes you down.

I was really looking forward to the breakfast but my sugar levels were still all over the place so I therefore avoided carbs as much as possible. No breads or bakery items like croissants or pastries. I didn’t really mind as I don’t really get hungry too often anyway. 

As mentioned after about 6:30AM the area began to fill up really quickly with a long line of guests filling the area from the desk to the lifts. As it got busier it got a lot more difficult to pick what you wanted from the buffet which although inconvenient, it was unavoidable. 

The tables were kept clean by the housekeepers and with white table cloth used the area looked bright and fresh which is a-nice to have early morning for breakfast. I think the only key difference with this hotel buffet breakfast compared to Emaar hotel is that the whole time I was there, I didn’t really make any conversation with other guests. I was mainly at breakfast by myself whereas previously there were brothers from Russia/Eastern Europe who would go to the effort of striking up a conversation despite both of us not speaking the same language.

I went to Masjid-an-Nabawi after breakfast for a small nafl prayer. Whilst there I took the time to just walk around the prayer hall and I came to find a section where there were some free books in different languages. There were about two sets of cases with 5-6 shelves each, each shelf dedicated to one language. I picked up a du’a (supplication) book that was written in English and had Arabic verses as well as the transliteration. I ended up taking this to give to my eldest nephew but stupidly I didn’t take 2 more regretfully. When I returned the next day. They were all gone. I had initially taken the book for myself which is why I never thought to take more but it was only later when I thought about passing these on to my nephews that I came back and failed to collect anymore.

 Dar Al-Madinah Museum

One of my main plans today was to visit Dar Al Madinah museum. I researched museums to visit in preparation for my trip and this museum has good reviews so I made an effort to visit. It gives a great learning experience through the development of Madinah before, during and after the prophetic quest. 

I really enjoyed the artefacts and displays and none were digitalised. It is a relatively smaller museum than most museums I usually visit on my travels but if you take your time to read the exhibits rather than just view the displays it can take a few hours. 

There are also guides that give information and talks that you can join at any moment. Unfortunately during the time I was there there were no English guides, only Arabic during my 2 hours that I was there.

This was a really lovely, informative and educational museum that I would really recommend visiting if you ever go to Madinah. On entry to the museum there was an elderly gentleman who spoke fluent English and answered my questions. There is an area with free bottles of water and some lovely dates as well as a sit down area where you can just take a break. There was a coffee dispenser but unfortunately despite my best efforts I couldn’t get a drop out.

Some key and memorable exhibits were 3D models of the 6 constructions of the Ka’bah. The Ka’bah had been damaged on multiple occasions either through weather or accidents like a fire. Key learnings whilst I was there were the prophets dedication to uniting tribes and avoiding conflict, and also our (Muslims) obligation to the care and welfare of all animals. 

 Uplift All

I remember the story about a time in the prophet’s life where the 12 tribes of the Quraysh were in disagreement and in an argument about who should lift the covering over the Ka’bah. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) intervened and asked each head to take a piece of the cloth and he would take the final piece and they would all lift and cover the Ka’bah together. 

The messaging behind this I think was really important especially in current world affairs. Despite our disagreements, we fundamentally want the same things – safety, security, peace, recognition and unity. To get there together I think the key symbolic meaning with all the heads of the tribes lifting together is uplift others collectively with due regard.

Another section of the museum was dedicated to stories and hadiths on animals. One exhibit and story I read was about a man’s compassion to a thirsty dog. I think that it’s well known that Muslim families and Muslims don’t have dogs as pets and try to avoid them quite a lot. 

Personally, I love dogs, I think they’re adorable and bring you so much joy. I did an internship in Brazil – probably fifteen years ago now – and the family that I stayed with had a pet dog called Mary. She was so sweet and lovely and interestingly a bit of a mind reader. 

I had a small gathering / house party and she could tell I fancied another intern who was doing another project in our city! She became a little hostile towards her, always barking whenever she was close by! I had to step in a couple of times to calm Mary down! I love dogs, I really do!

With the hadith it is written that a man went down into a well to collect some water and when he returned, he found a dog that was so thirsty it was trying to lick any moisture off the ground. The man went down again to collect water for the dog and it is written that prophet muhammed (PBUH) said that showing compassion to any of God’s animals is a good deed and has its reward. If you can be kind to an animal, kindness to another human being is more regarded and rewarded in the afterlife. I loved this hadith. 

On returning, I did share this hadith with friends and family but there are many counter stories which may or may not be true about why you can’t keep a dog in the house. I’m not saying these are false but I guess it’s something I need to find out a bit more about. I would still value a dog as a pet when I’m older but this I get might be controversial to some Muslims.

I loved the museum and I found it a lot more educational than the years of going to mosque after school as a child. I would recommend anyone visiting Madinah to visit this Museum as you may learn one or two things that you didn’t know that will surprise you. It is a small museum, just one floor but I think that has its benefits as it forces you to read as you move around the exhibits which forces you to learn. 

I can’t remember how much the entry was but I think SAR 14. The only improvement they could make is to have a dedicated prayer area. I heard the Azan whilst I was there but there was no dedicated prayer area as far as I could tell.

 Small Souvenirs

As you exit the main exhibit area and you walk outside there is a nice open garden. It is quite small and has some benches to sit down. Besides the benches there are two small stalls with vendors selling various souvenir / gift items, similar to any shop to be honest. 

There were two stalls that were open when I was there. One stall was manned by a young brother who spoke fluent English. The other by a slight older gentlemen who did smile and was very hospitable although he did not speak English. His stall sold prayer beads and oud – perfume. 

The other stall had more glass figurines and arabic plaques etc. You know the ones you can get at any souvenir shop depicting the big ben or eiffel tower for example. Well I purchased a small glass based figurine of the Ka’bah and the clock tower. I was always going to buy this type of souvenir and given the peaceful setting where I was and the courteousness of the vendors I thought let me just buy it here. 

I’m really glad I did as my mum loved it and out of all my travels, it’s the only souvenir she’s left in our living room to showcase. All the other stuff, I collected a while ago to take to my room as my mum complained about them. Probably the dust! 

The price originally was SAR 50 but the vendor very kindly decided to give me a discount and only charged me SAR 45. I was very grateful and said Assalamu-Alaikum to both of them before sitting on the benches for a few seconds to pack the item in my drawstring bag and drink a bit of water. 

The museum is lovely. It’s not a big museum, but a very peaceful place with interesting artefacts which include a piece of the kiswa (the covering of the Ka’bah) as well as a display of the key to the holy Ka’bah. Things you don’t see everyday, so well worth going if you’re in Madinah.

Thank you so much for reading this post and I really hope you got something out of it. If you haven’t already please do subscribe to this blog so you can stay updated with new posts. Stay tuned in the next few days to read my journey through the Quba walkway and experiencing/visiting a bit of Bengali culture whilst I was there. Please keep sharing this blog it means the world to me.

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