We started our journey on the 25th of September. However, our mental journey started way before. It was all part of the Umrah for us, from saving up a little bit each month, making plans, counting days, and packing bags. When the day finally arrived, my father, brother, and husband were all wrapped up in two pieces of unstitched white cloth. My mother, sister-in-law, and I were in proper attire for Umrah. After a short transit in Bahrain, we landed in Jeddah. From there, it was a two-hour distance to Makkah.
After freshening up in the hotel, we start toward haram sharif in the evening. As I was walking towards Kaaba, a mix of memories and overwhelming emotions was running inside me. The Mataf was packed with thousands of people. Seeing people of all races and ethnicities performing Tawaf together made us feel like we were somehow linked.
As we circled around the Kaaba, we asked Allah for forgiveness and the ability to live life the way that pleases him. We prayed to Allah for beneficial knowledge, halal provision, good health, and a pure heart. We asked for the opportunity to travel more to admire the enchanting beauty of His creation and become amongst His grateful servants. We also prayed to the Almighty to honour our parents in this life and the afterlife for their efforts in raising us.
While we were doing Tawaf, the prayer for Isha was called. This beautiful call to prayer touched our hearts, distracting us from worldly affairs and the everyday chaos of life. The police were strict in disciplining the Muslims performing Tawaf into katar for prayer within a short time. At that moment, I felt a powerful sense of unity as I stood for prayer with Muslims from around the world. 
After finishing salah, it was time for Saee. My brother was carrying his three-year-old son during Saee; we took his shoulder bag with us to make things easier. All his important documents, phone, cash, and shoes were in the bag. With thousands of people performing Saee, my brother got detached from us at one point. He could not reach the hotel by himself with zero cash and no shoes. It took us two hours and lots of prayers to finally find him. After that, we were able to cut our hair, and the Umrah became complete. Then we went to our hotel and had dinner at a Bengali hotel.
The Masjid al-Haram has so many gates that getting lost inside the masjid is easy. However, we took the situation to our advantage, prayed Salah, and performed Tawaf on different floors. Tawaf around Kaaba from different floors gives a separate experience, as each floor has its atmosphere and offers a beautiful view. We also drank as much Zamzam water as we could. It was so refreshing to drink the cold Zamzam amidst heat and sweat.
On the 3rd day, we went sightseeing. We have seen the places where the hajj is performed, including Mina, Arafah, and Muzdalifah. Then, we saw Jabal-al-Rahmat and the cave of Hira. During our stay in Makkah, we visited Taif city, three hours away from Makkah. Taiff is a beautiful city with lots of greenery and fresh fruits. It is also a historically significant city.
My most memorable event from Makkah was experiencing rain while doing Tawaf. It was my husband's first time in Makkah, and he had some sort of wish to see rain in Kaaba. As it is a deserted land, rain is very unusual here. However, on the third day, when we went to the masjid for the Maghrib prayer, we heard thunder buzzing after prayer as we got up to start Tawaf. At first, I thought I heard it wrong. Then it happened for the second time, and then the third time...
The whole time I was doing Tawaf, I could not focus on any of my prayers. It was so overwhelming that I couldn't hold back my tears. It was such an ambience that we could feel the presence of Allah up above in the sky, and the thunder was letting us know that he was the most powerful and prestigious. Those moments presented me with a lot of life realisations.
Another memory I dearly recall from this year is praying Tahajjut on our last night in Makkah. It was 3:30 in the morning, with one hour left till the Fajr prayer. My husband called a taxi, and we rushed to the masjid in the middle of the night before leaving Makkah for one last conversation with Allah.
We prayed two Rakats of Tahajjut. Then, we started to open up to Allah about all our issues. It was just us, every individual, and our creator in the middle of the night. He knows how to solve our problems and make us the happiest. We surrendered ourselves to him with all our good and bad. It was an emotionally healing conversation.
After that we traveled from Makkah to Madina to visit masjid al Nabawi. It is the resting place of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). We were lucky enough to book a hotel just by the masjid. The mosque offers peace and tranquillity to anyone who enters. The architecture of the masjid is incredible, with huge doors and artistic ceilings. As we walked into the masjid for prayer, we could see the vision of the 250 shading umbrellas set to protect the Muslims from the sun's heat.
The ambience of the Prophet's masjid is different from the Masjid al-Haram. By afternoon, you will find many madrassa classes in different parts of the mosque. From children groups to female groups, all are studying the Quran in maktabs under specified teachers. The masjid area becomes quite empty at night. Many people like lying casually on the floor outside the masjid to spend time remembering Allah.
In Madina, we have seen various sites and masjids nearby such as masjid al Quba, Fatah mosque, masjid al Qiblatain, masjid-e-juma, Uhud Mountain, and the beautiful Garden of Salman al Farsi and many more.
The overall cost of our journey was approximately Tk 150,000 per person for a 10-day trip. Free buses were available from Jeddah to Makkah. However, we hired a 7-seater taxi for 250 riyals, which dropped us in front of our hotel. We booked our ticket and completed the visa process with the help of a travel agency. It cost us 450 riyals to travel from Makkah to Taif and 600 riyals from Makkah to Madina. Jiyarah's cost was approximately 250- 300 in both Makkah and Madina.
We found some really good Bengali hotels for everyday meals during our stay. Besides Bengali items, we also tried different Arabian Biryani, Mandi, Kebab-roti, Shawarma, fried chicken of Albaik, fresh fruit juice, ice cream, and many more.
The post-effect of being a guest in God's house is so honourable that the following years come up with sweet tests of Imaan and many unexpected good news. This is how the almighty keeps calling you to come back over and over again. And it's a call you cannot deny.
The journey of Umrah keeps reminding me that it is never too late to reach out and that we must reconnect to our creator no matter how far we have strayed. From the sun's heat to the fragrance of the carpets of masjid al-Haram, each sweet memory of Makkah and Madina makes me want to go there again and again.
z.mashkura@gmail.com