Today was the big day. The whole reason for our trip. The journey to Al-Aqsa. We started getting ready from fajr, packed everything away and was ready for Abu Ahmed at 8am sharp. 

We began the one hour drive to the King Hussein border. He dropped us off outside, we went in, got our paper stamped, paid the exit tax of 10 JD per person, got our second stamp and loaded our bags onto the bus. The bus costs 7 JD per person and 1.5 JD per additional piece of luggage. We had a really friendly driver who said he spoke “shway shway English” and even pointed out to us Jericho in the distance. 

It was a short drive to the other side passing over King Hussein bridge. A few moments later when you reach the other side, you are not allowed to take any pictures. 

We got off the shuttle and walked into passport control at the border. They send through your bags on their own. We stood in a short line, they checked our passports and then asked my siblings and I to fill out a form while holding our passports back – my parents were free to go through but they opted to stay and wait with us. 

We waited for about two hours and then they called us to get our passports and go through to the other side. While we waited for the shuttle to Jerusalem, my siblings bought some noodles in a cup which were really good. 

We got onto the shuttle (which was 50 ILS per person) and began our journey to the blessed land. We stopped at a checkpoint where a guard requested to see our visa and passports and then we carried on into the old city. 

We passed through a residential area called Wadi al Jouz where we caught our first glance of Qubbat as-Sakhra (the Dome of the Rock). When hearing how excited we were, a young man said to his friend “they don’t know that we live here but we cannot go to Al-Aqsa”. Another man explained to us that as a Palestinian, the colour of your passport determines whether you are allowed into Masjid-ul-Aqsa. A green passport is for the West Bank and they are not allowed into Masjid-ul-Aqsa, a blue passport is for everywhere else, they can enter Masjid-ul-Aqsa but they will encounter difficulties to go places and then there’s an Israeli passport which allows you everywhere with no issues. 

The shuttle then dropped us off outside Golden Walls hotel and we walked about 200m to the gate into the old city. I was absolutely mesmerised by the old city. There are shops everywhere that sell everything from fruits and vegetables to phone covers to clothes. There are guys with carts available who will help you take your luggage to your hotel which is definitely needed. 

A couple minutes later, we reached Hashimi Hotel and checked in. The hotel does not serve breakfast due to low occupancy. If you were thinking of coming to Aqsa but changed your mind – change it back, the people need you and they are waiting for you. Hashimi also has an open tea and coffee bar and the tea and the coffee are both 10/10. 

They gave us a room that faces the Qubbat as-Sakhra which was available because of the low occupancy in the hotel. We freshened up and got ready to go down to Masjid-ul-Aqsa. 

We first met a shop keeper at Holy Rock Cafe (Husaam) who prepares fresh mint lemonade for visitors of Al-Aqsa. He absolutely refused to take money from us saying that this is his “barakah”. 

We found a store that was selling food that smelt really good. So we bought some chicken schnitzel rolls which tasted as good as they smelt. 

As we were walking to find the next gate, we passed Khan Abu Khadijah. The shop keeper Abu Mohammed called us in to explain that his cafe has a tunnel that goes to Masjid-ul-Aqsa. He told us that we are not visitors in Al-Aqsa and that Al-Aqsa is for all of us. He stressed upon the fact that they are waiting for visitors so please can we tell everyone to come. In writing this, I am telling you – please come to Al-Aqsa. 

He took us to the gate, explained to the guard that we just wanted to pray in the masjid and Alhamdulillah, after enquiring if we were “muslimeen”, the guard greeted us with “Ahlan wa Sahlan” and let us through. 

We walked into the haram as Maghrib athaan was ending. I don’t think anything could have prepared me for that first look of the masjid. My heart just melted. We walked straight into Qubbat as-Sakhra and joined the maghrib jamaat. 

After salaah, we went down to the cave in the middle of the masjid. It is believed by some scholars that this is where the angel Israfeel will blow the trumpet before Qiyamah. 

We sat in the cave between Maghrib and Esha marvelling at the beauty and the power of this place. A cat wandered into the masjid and used my lap to rest which was cute but I am really not the biggest fan of any animals. 

After Esha, one of the caretakers of the masjid explained to us the story of the cave and then the masjid closed (it closes about 20 minutes after Esha salaah). 

We marvelled one more time at the beauty of the masjid and then made our way back to Khan Abu Khadeejah to meet my brother and father. We bought some tea and sahlep from him and just enjoyed the cafe. 

We walked to the staircase near the Buraq wall and when a guard saw us looking confused – he called us to him and showed us the way to the Buraq wall. It was closed but we got to see it and the beautiful view of the Qubbat as-Sakhra from it. 

We then walked back to Hashimi, most of the shops were closed. We did manage to find an open one near the hotel and my brother could not resist some hot fries which we had for supper with chicken wraps. 

After supper, we chilled on the rooftop purely soaking in the view of Qubbat as-Sakhra. We were joined by the group of South Africans who also arrived today. They also had a similar experience at the border. And as Indians do, we found connections everywhere. 

After that, we called it a night and came back to our room to rest for Jummah the next day. I was really excited because I had a cute abaya planned for tomorrow

الحمد لله دائما / Praise be to Allah always

Step count: 12 585