My heart belongs to Makkah. The hustle and bustle. The busyness. The power of the reciters. The castle that leads to the Haram. The Ka’bah. Baitullah. Home. 

I know that Gate 79 is instagram’s favourite but nothing is better than the walk from Abraj Al Bait straight into King Abdul Aziz Gate. You get an instant view of the Ka’bah and you can even see the Ka’bah when you’re standing in Abraj. 

Is there anything that better than watching the sky turn colours in the Haram? We saw the prettiest skies in Makkah during this trip and I can’t get over the sky turning shades of yellow, orange, blue, pink and my favourite, purple. I will forever be the girl who gets really excited when the sky is in pretty colours.  

Being in tawaaf and hearing the crowds duas is extremely heartwarming. I love the little reminders of the different duas that you can read. Sometimes, you even find the random Turkish group and next thing you know, you’re repeating duas with them. May Allah accept every single person’s duas with aafiyah. 

I think being in Makkah is the most solid reminder of this world. Makkah tests you – it tests your patience, your tolerance, your acceptance and your ability to just let things go. But the reward at the end of it is worth it. It breaks you to put you together again. Whether it’s standing in line to order food or at a standstill making istilaam at the Hajre Aswad. 

I think everyone’s natural state is to look for the Ka’bah. Your heart is pulled towards it from the moment you see the outside of the Haram. It really is the most special attraction. 

The reciters of Makkah are something else, Allah has really blessed them because their recitations have the unique ability to capture hearts in 0.2 seconds. The minute I heard that first “alhamdu” by Sheikh Maher, I was gone, my heart, mind, body and soul completely melted. I knew in that moment that I was home. It was one of those moments in life where everything just felt right. Sheikh Shamshaan has become my favourite reciter though, he has this perfect mix of sweet and powerful and reading behind him made me feel so content. Alhamdulillah. 

Like Madinah, I tried my absolute best to ignore what everyone else was doing and did what I learnt and felt was right. 

Makkah tips

All things Haram related

Tawaaf is easy between zohr and asr but it is extremely hot so that opportunity cost is that you will be drained at the end of the day.

For ladies, don’t worry about finding a place for salaah on the Mataaf, rather make your tawaaf and wait for them to open more ladies sections. The first section they open is Al Fath gate and once it’s closer to salaah, they start opening the area between Al Umrah Gate and King Abdullah Gate. 

The hateem is open for men around midnight and for women in the morning around 10am but we didn’t see it open. 

It’s really nice to sit on the roof between Maghrib and Esha. If you walk past the three domes and under the tunnnel, you will be at the tawaaf area where there is plenty of carpets and enough place to just sit and enjoy being in the Haram. If you go closer to the barriers, you’ll be able to see the Ka’bah (Additional Tip: after Maghrib, stand by the barriers and use your phone to read your surahs – no one will ask you to move and you’ll be able to see the Ka’bah). 

You can make tawaaf on the roof but it will be about 4kms – no pushing or shoving and no one touches you but more men making tawaaf on this floor. 

Fajr is really nice to read on the ground floor. Which ever gate you enter from, turn right and carry on walking until you find the spot you like. In most places, you can see the Ka’bah easily. You can also just go about half an hour before athaan to the Haram then because you wouldn’t be stressing to get on the Mataaf. 

Shopping/Food 

My mom stands by bringing some food from home. We ate heat and eat things the first few days and then started eating in the Food Court in Abraj. 

Lounge 99 has a really nice chicken pizza – it’s called Ranchy Dynamite. 

We bought pasta from Rosso – it was okay. 

Chick Mix was so lekker (my favourite actually). We had a chicken fajita pizza, chicken tenders and a zinger burger, dynamite shrimp loaded fries and an arrabbiata pasta. I’d recommend sharing things so you can taste everything. 

Al Tazaj has a new updated menu – the pizza roll was so good. 

Smashburger wasn’t nice at all. I’d definitely give this a skip next time. 

If you are lucky enough to find the Summer Sea Salt  ice cream at Baskin Robbins – please have it. My Mamajee told us about it 2 years ago and we only found it for the first time during this trip. It was absolutely delicious. 

Because Saudi National Day was on 23rd September, there was loads of specials everywhere. I’d recommend buying perfumes. You’ll get those little cards everywhere, decide on the ones you like best and see what deals the stores have. 

The basement in Abraj had some nice abayas. We didn’t find any in Safwa towers but we met some people who found some and they said it was cheaper than the basement in Abraj.

We had to stop at Marwa in Makkah Towers for old time’s sake. The store is renovated and they have new abayas (similar to their old bling styles).

Cafe Moments makes a really nice iced Spanish latte. Barns was my least favourite iced Spanish latte. 

Buy a nail clipper from the Bin Dawood in Hilton Suites – look for the ones for SAR 13 because those are the best. 

Step count (Friday): 16 737

Step count (Saturday): 16 759

Step count (Sunday): 21 151

Step count (Monday): 24 525