#insidebahrain

The night after surprising Ate Glicel Ann, she treated us for breakfast. :) Oh, how thoughtful my friends are! ;)

After breakfast, we stroll around Adliya to Juffair.

Then, found some sunflowers planted and I was like.... <3

I really love Bahrain....

Oh, and you of course! :)

Impromptu field trip in Al-Fateh Grand Mosque ;) 

In my 3 years stay in Bahrain, this is the first time I entered a Mosque.  I attempted many times to go there, specially during Eid Holidays (after Ramadan) where it is open for tourists.  And, 1 trivia, this is the only Mosque in Bahrain wherein Ex-pats (non-Muslims) can visit.  In addition, this is one of the largest Mosque in the world (as per our Indonesian tourist guide whom I forgot the name) and the largest in Manama, Bahrain. :)

Al-Fateh Grand Moque (also known as Al-Fateh Islamic Center) was built in 1984 until 1987 in a reclaimed land of Bahrain; it was open for public on 1988.  It was gradually built within 3-4 years because all the materials came from different countries in Europe and in India. It encompasses 6,500 square meters and have the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshipers at a time! Wow! Isn’t that great!? :)

Before going inside, of course women were requested to wear their traditional dresses as a sign of respect.  Hijab is the veil which covers your hair and if you prefer your whole face except the eyes; while Abaya is a simple cloak, loose over-garment, essentially a robe-like dress for the body.  They are very strict when it comes on your clothes, like short skirts, body fitting and other liberated types.  For men, anything will do except shorts. :)

Hahaha! Before, I wonder how will I look like wearing hijab and abaya. But, yeah, be the critic ;)

I know, right! :) They say “bagay” or looks really good on me. I look like a native Malay. Oh di ba, asian na asian ang dating! ;)  I love it! :) But still, I prefer my normal self. ;)

Then Ate Glicel, she is used of wearing Abaya and Hijab because she has Bahraini boyfie. :) Did I just chikka Ate Gli’s lovelife. No. Hahaha! I am just sharing.  Bahraini guys (or most of Arabic guys) prefer girls wearing non-revealing clothes. :)  Just to share, one time Ate Gli was supposed to have a date with his boyfie. He bought her short, sexy dress and brought her to salon for hair and make up.  When they're ready to go, her boyfie brought out the Hijab and Abaya and ask her to wear them. Hahaha! Funny right? What’s the used of the sexy dress, make ups and all, when it will be behind the hijab and abaya. :D But no worries Ate Gli wore them with a heavy heart. Hahahahaha! 

Then, my man. Heart heart heart! :)

Of course, Sir Jonas :)

On that day, the Mosque was under construction...so we have photobombers but it’s okay ;)

This is the first part of the tour, the outer side of the Mosque.  Let me show you :)

But, hey, let me first introduce you to our very cheerful, bright, smart and very accommodating tour guide, (insert his name here because I forgot HUHUHU).  He is an Indonesian, student, who do part-time as a tour guide here in the Mosque.  He is very thoughtful on sharing all the ideas and every small details about the mosque. But I am so sorry, I forgot his name. -_-

So, first, he said that the architecture of Al-Fateh Grand Mosque is supposed to be like one of the Mosque in Italy; wherein it has a fountain in the center before the main entrance.  And it is in that central part of the floor.  But because of the Bahrain’s season, too hot during summer, that water fountain is a big no,no,  And also when sand storm.

The floors of the mosque are covered by Italian marble and surrounded by numerous hand blown glass lamps all made in France (our tour guide said that there were almost or more than 500 lamps in the mosque).  

Yeeeey!!! We’ve been here! :)

Anyways, we can’t wear our shoes inside and the floor was very cooollllld! 

Going inside, the second part of the tour:

Here’s the leader stays during prayer time. 

Note:  Any one can lead the prayer as long as he knows the methods of praying. 

This shows the prayer time for that day.  It changes depending on the sunrise and sunset.  Salah times refers to times when Muslims perform prayers (salah). The term is primarily used for the five daily prayers plus the Friday prayer. According to Muslim beliefs, the salat times were taught by Allah to Muhammad. Prayer times are standard for Muslims in the world, especially the fard prayer times. They depend on the condition of the Sun and geography. There are varying opinions regarding the exact salah times, the schools of Islamic thought differing in minor details. All schools agree that any given prayer cannot be performed before its stipulated time. 

Fajr (pre-dawn)

Dhuhr (midday)

Asr (afternoon)

Maghrib (sunset)

Isha'a (night)

Note: Salat for one and Salah for all 5 prayers :)

The Qibla is the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salat. It is fixed as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca. Most mosques contain a wall niche, known as mihrab, that indicates the Qiblah. Most multifaith prayer rooms will also contain a Qibla, although usually less standardized in appearance than one would find within a mosque 

 Note:  They don’t have any altar or sculpture inside.  That is not an altar. Actually, it echoes when the leader prays.

The carpet manufactured in Scotland with geometric patterns resembling those of the windows and the doors.  It is very soft and very comfortable especially when they kneel and bow down on praying. The quality is superb! :)

The dome of the mosque is about 40 meters (132 feet) high with a diameter of 25 meters (82 feet). It is made of fiberglass and it has twelve Iranian stained glass windows inscribed with the name of God (Allah) in Arabic.

Hanging from the dome is a large chandelier made in Austria and surrounded by numerous hand blown glass lamps all made in France (which I mentioned on the first part of the tour).

(shot from the front side, that’s the entrance doors)

(shot from the back)

They are providing Qu’ran (Koran in Tagalog).

The tour guide says that when you look straight to the lamps, it will not hurt or damage your eyesight. Magic! Hahaha! No, the quality of the interior is really superb!

Verses from the Qur’an are an active source for Islamic calligraphy and can be seen everywhere on the walls of Al-Fateh Mosque. That was it! Great, right? :)

The eye cannot miss the geometric shapes and patterns at Al-Fateh Mosque. These appear everywhere: on the marble floor, on the carpet, on the walls, on the windows and on the doors which are made of teak wood imported from India.

The majestic chandelier itself.  I was taking a picture of it on a different angle but the tour guide came beside me and told me “put your phone on the floor, in the middle position of the chandelier and have it on a timer, you will have a nice shot of it” and voila! He was right, very bright! :)

How about a picture of us on it!? :)

On the third and last part of the tour, we went on the second floor of the mosque, where he shows us how they are praying.  The prayer has 5 parts, introduction, your confession, your prayer, your plead, the closing prayer. Nakakabilib! I usually hear it when I’m inside my flat but that time I heard it on person! :)

Shot from the patterns of the wooden tweak.

Details, details details. :)

On that day, there were lots of German tourists (on cruise ship) with us. :)

Smile from us :) I was very happy and kinda fulfilled! Dati kasi dinadaanan lang namin lagi, ngayon alam ko na what’s inside. So, here are some of our photo ops inside :) I put it on the last part para di kayo maumay! :D

How about our photo-ops outside:

(There he goes again, no dull moments) Heart heart! :)

The Tourists buses :)

And, here are some of our cheesy shots as final part of my post :)