Cost Summary & Ahadith on Al Aqsa

Here is a summary of the main costs for our trip so that others wishing to replicate can budget and plan. Please note, we only got the flight at the low price we did as we booked 6 months in advance.

£139 - Easyjet return flight including booking fee from Gatwick to Amman (no hold luggage)
£20 - Jordan visa at the airport (20JD which costs £20 at the airport)
£5.82 - Taxi from Airport to Hotel (35JD divided by 6 = £5.83 at rate of 1JD/£1)
£82.56 - 4 nights in Toledo Hotel Amman (22.5JD x 4 = 90JD = £82.56 at rate of £1/1.09JD)
£5.35 - Taxi from hotel to King Hussain Bridge (35JD divided by 6 = 5.83JD = £5.35)
£4.86 - Bus over the border (4JD plus 1.3JD for luggage = 5.3JD = £4.86)
£7.11 - Shared Bus from Border to Jerusalem 42 shekels (£7.11)
£75 - 3 nights in Hashimi Hotel/Hostel in Jerusalem
£48 - Coach tour of Palestine (1700shekels divided by 6 = 283sh = £48 at rate if £1/5.9sh)
£10.73 - Taxi from Jerusalem to border (190sh / 3 = 63.33sh = £10.73)
£29.83 - Israeli Exit Tax (176sh = £29.83)
£4.86 - Bus over the border (4JD plus 1.3JD for luggage = 5.3JD = £4.86)
£6.11 - Taxi from border to hotel in Amman (20JD divided by 3 = 6.66JD = £6.11)
£18.34 - Minivan to Petra (120JD divided by 6 = 20JD = £18.34)
£45.87 - Petra entrance (50JD = £45.87)
£7.64 - Petra Guide (50JD divided by 6 = 8.33JD = £7.64)
£15.29 - North Jordan Tour (100JD divided by 6 = 16.66JD = £15.29)
£10.70 - Amman tour and airport taxi (70JD divided by 6 = 11.66JD = £10.70)

TOTAL = £537 approx

I spent around £113 on food, small entry fees, local taxis etc making total spend £650. We feel this was excellent value for the travelling we did.

We encourage everyone to undertake this trip, the Palestinians and Jordanians were genuinely happy to welcome us and we were told by one brother that they are particularly happy to meet non-Arab Muslims as they feel it is harder for us to practice our Deen in non-Muslim countries. Many Palestinians feel support when they see visitors like us, and they are sad that the Al Aqsa is so empty when the Jewish and Christian shrines are packed especially during their religious festivals.

These are the details of two good drivers we found in Amman who charge reasonable rates and speak good English, a rare combination: Yousef Kattan (this driver lives close to Toledo hotel and took us on the North Jordan tour, he is a nice guy who has a lot of knowledge of the local area and me and AG also visited his home on our last day) Mobile 00963 795540045 - the second driver is Anwar Al Nator who took us to Queen Alia airport on the last day - Mobile 00962 796722509 or 00962 788365570 (he may be moving to Australia in late 2012 so try Br Yousef first).

We end with a few Ahadith:

Abu Hurayrah (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said, "You should not undertake a special journey to visit any place other than the following three Masjids with the expectations of getting greater reward: the Sacred Masjid of Makkah (Ka'bah), this Masjid of mine (the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah), and Masjid Al-Aqsa (of Jerusalem)".

Anas Ibn Malik (ra) relates that the Prophet (saw) said, " The prayer of a person in his house is a single prayer; his prayer in the Masjid of his people has the reward of 27 prayers; his prayer in the Masjid in which the Friday prayer is observed has the reward of 500; his prayer in Masjid Al-Aqsa (i.e. Al-Aqsa Sanctuary) has a reward of 5,000 prayers; his prayer in my Masjid (the Prophet's Masjid in Madinah) has a reward of 50,000 prayers, and the prayer in the Sacred Masjid (Ka'bah) has the reward of 100,000 prayers". (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

... Fee Amanillah

Tour of Amman and back to London

After a packed schedule, we finally came to our last day in Jordan. We had a late flight so still wanted to schedule activities before we had to be at the airport for around 7pm - and we still had a lot to see in and around Amman.

We therefore checked out at 12pm and had a minivan waiting to take us on a tour and straight to the airport for 7pm. We visited the following sites:

1) Grave of the great Sahaba Abdur Rahman ibn Awf RA in Sweileh Amman (one of the ashara mubashara - ten people promised Jannah while still alive by Allah). More info: http://www.islamiska.org/e/awf.htm

Grave of Abdurrahman ibn Awf RA in Amman

2) King Hussein Masjid (beautiful large Masjid built by King Abdullah for his late father)

The new (5 year old) Masjid Hussain in Amman

We stopped for lunch at TGI Friday in City Mall which was one of the missions we had agreed to undertake whilst in Amman, then onto:

3) The Citadel (ruins of Umayyad palace, masjid and roman ruins with excellent views of Amman)

The Citadel in Amman

Drank Qasab (sugar cane juice) downtown, then headed to:

Sugarcane Juice Shop in Downtown Amman

4) The Cave of 7 Sleepers (Ahsab al Kahf as mentioned in Surah Kahf, the place where 7 youths slept for 300 years)

More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/jordan/cave_of_ashabe_kahf_exterior.html
And http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/jordan/cave_of_ashabe_ashabe_kahf_interior.html

Cave of the 7 Sleepers (Ahsab al Kahf)

Masjid next to Cave of 7 Sleepers

Sign outside Cave area and Masjid

Finally, we got to the airport on time and headed back home, arriving london around 00:30 on Wed 13th June.

Costs:
Taxi: 70JD for 6 people
Qasb: 0.5JD
Entry Citadel: 2JD
TGI: 10JD each

Tour around North Jordan

We wanted to visit historical and Islamic sites not too far from Amman so set this day aside to do this. We left hotel at 11.30am and visited the following sites:

1) Grave of Yusha AS in Salt.
More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/jordan/tomb_of_yusha_as.html

Masjid Yusha AS in Salt

Grave of Yusha AS

2) Grave of Shuaib AS in Wadi Shuaib
More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/jordan/tomb_of_shoayb_as.html

Masjid of Shuaib AS in Wadi Shuaib

3) Dead Sea (drove past and stopped for a few minutes only as you are meant to hasten from places where Allah's punishment has been meted).
More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/palestine/other/dead_sea.html

Dead Sea

4) Mount  Nebo (possible resting place of Musa on his travels, has a Church built in top with old mosaics, not really considered a resting place of Prophet Musa by local Muslims despite signs stating it is)

View from Mount Nebo

View from Mount Nebo

5) Madaba, a Church contains a 1400 year old mosaic map of Jerusalem and Palestine, the oldest recorded map of the region

Street in Madaba

Football fans in our group needed to be back in the hotel for football (England v France) so we picked up a takeaway from Hardee's on the way back.

Later on we went for a late walk in Abdali, and Downtown (including a walk around the old Roman Ampitheatre) and we had a very late meal at Hashem's (houmous, fuul, falafel, salad, chips, bread, mint tea) this was disappointing as it is rated as the No 3 restaurant in Amman but lacked flavour - the pic looks better than it tastes - though the tea was nice. We left downtown and got back to the hotel around 1.30am.

Hashem's Restaurant in Amman

Costs:
Taxi: 100JD for 6
Hardee's: 3-5 JD each
Hashem's: 3.5 JD
Taxi late night: 9JD
Nebo entry: 1JD
Madaba entry: 1JD

Petra

We left the hotel early at 7:30 and got to Petra at 10:15 (2 hours 45 mins).

Petra - The Treasury

Petra Rock Formations

Entrance to Petra is very expensive at 50JD (£45) and we also shared the cost for an English guide at 50JD - the guide, Harby, was very knowledgeable and gave us good insight into the area, he was born in the area and was a bedouin (he told us he is currently having a book published about his life called 'From Tent to Tourism').
We visited the main sites which are the canyon leading to the Siq, an opening that leads to The Treasury, and took a path past many old cave houses until we came to the restaurant at the bottom of the steps leading to the monastery. We stopped to pray Dhuhr in the staff prayer room in the restaurant, and the restaurant owner insisted we had tea with him - we were grateful for the rest and the refreshment, and the hospitality of the owner.

Steps to the Monastery

After this we started climbed the 850 steps and various hills which take you to the monastary which is at the top of a mountain. It took us over an hour to reach the summit and the monastery, and the climb became more about the challenge of getting to the top than seeing the monument. When we got to the top we drank juices and water in a small resthouse at the top and took in some excellent views of the canyons and mountains. It was an exhausting journey but worth it.

The Monastery

Mule Transportation

When we got back down we agreed with some local youth to take 6 donkeys/mules to the bedouin village instead of walking all the way back to the entrance. We enjoyed the 20 minute ride but when we got to the location (around 10 mins drive from the main entrance) we found that our taxi drivers number did not work. We spoke to some friendly local police, and they called and arranged for a 4x4 truck to pick us up and take us back to the entrance, 2 of the group had to jump in the back.

We had spent 7 hours walking around Petra and left around 5.30pm. We got back to Amman around 8.30pm (3 hours) and were starving so had a good meal at Abu Ghaith restaurant (whole roast chicken, rice with mince, mansaf, Arabi chicken wraps, roast lamb plate, chips, salad) which was excellent value at around £21.We then headed back to the hotel for rest.

View from Top

Costs:
Entrance Petra. 50JD
Guide: 50 JD
Car for 6 120JD
Mule 3JD each
4x4 for 6: 4JD
Dinner: 23JD

Morning in Jerusalem then to Amman

Graveyard Outside Old City

After Fajr at Al Aqsa Masjid we went straight out of Bab Al Amood to walk around the old city wall and visited the graveyard where two sahabas are buried


We then walked around the outside of Masjid Al Aqsa taking in wonderful views in the dawn light and then went back into the Old City via the Western Wall (Buraq Wall), known to Jews as the Wailing Wall to go back to our hotel

Masjid Al Aqsa in Dawn light

Close up of Dome

We left Al Quds at 8.30am and got to Amman at 12pm.

Dome of the Rock at Fajr

In Amman we checked back into the Toledo Hotel and then four of us went to get lunch at McDonalds (but beware as we later found out that the chicken is from Brazil which none of us had eaten, the meat is from Australia)

We prayed maghrib at the beautiful blue-domed Masjid Abdullah close to hotel back entrance

Masjid Abdullah

Inside Masjid Abdullah

After maghrib we met an English speaking driver called Abu Ibrahim who lived in Chicago for many years, he told us he would take us to a hanger where Jordanians buy tourist goods (we imagined a wholesaler) however, it was a tourist trap with prices double or triple what they are at normal shops. We ate at Hardee's close by which had very good food and used local meat according to staff, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Costs:
Taxis from Al Quds to border: 190 Shekels x 2 (380 = £64.4)
Israeli Exit tax: 176sh (£30)
Bus over border 4.3JD (£3.94)
Taxis from border to hotel 20jd x 2 = 40JD (£36.16)
Taxi at night: 12JD (£11)
Hardee's: 4-5JD each

Jummah at Al-Aqsa and Tour of Old City

This day has been set aside well before our journey started to spend worshipping at the Al Aqsa Mosque, we prayed all 5 salaah in Al Aqsa including Jummah.

Masjid Omar Entrance

In the morning we visited:

1) Masjid Omar (outside only as it was closed, please note that this Masjid does not open for Fajr and also doesn't open for Esha on fridays according to locals we spoke to)

Church of Holy Sepulchre

2) The church of the Holy Sepulchre where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, shrouded, buried and resurrected (note: heads need to be uncovered in Churches)

Western Buraq Wall

3) Western Wall where Jews believe the Holy Presence resides permanently (note: your head needs to be covered if you want to go close to the Wall, you will be stopped if your head is uncovered)


After Jummah we were taken for a tour of the Al Aqsa complex/haram by Shaikh Ali Al Abbasi, Imam of Al Aqsa Masjid, we went to:

4) Underground Buraq Masjid in the Al Aqsa complex and were shown the wall where Buraq was tied (which is underground and no longer visible despite what many tour guides say)

5) Old Al Aqsa masjid underground (original masjid built by Omar RA)

6) Marwan Mosque underground built by Marwan (2nd stage) 3rd stage was the existing Masjid built by Malik ibn Marwan

 7) Went to pray 2 rakaats in Dome of the Rock Masjid (Al Saqqarah Al Musharaf) the place in the World where the resurrection will begin according to Hadith
 

Jummah at Masjid Al Aqsa

Dome of the Rock on Jummah

Inside Dome of the Rock a few hours after Jummah

Close Up of Tiles on Dome of the Rock

View of Al Aqsa from Dome of the Rock

Another Jummah picture

More info about all these places at: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/palestine/jerusalem/aqsa_front_view.html

Tour of Palestine

View from Mount Olives

We had set Thursday aside to travel in the Palestinian territories outside of the Old City in Jerusalem so that we could pray Jummah in Masjid Al-Aqsa and walk around Salaah time. We woke up early to perform Fajr at Al-Aqsa, and it was the Imam (Shaikh Ali Al Abbasi) who helped us arrange a driver (Abdul Wahab) to take us on a tour for the day.

We left the hotel at 9.30am and visited the following sites:

1) Mount of Olives

2) Mount of Taqbeer (where Omar RA said Taqbeer before entering Jerusalem)

View from Mount of Taqbeer

3) Garden of Gethsemane (the place where Judas is meant to have betrayed Jesus according to the Bible)

4) Bethlehem - The Wall and then Church of Nativity

Church of Nativity Bethlehem

5) Halnoun - Masjid Yunus (prayed Dhuhr) and the grave of Sahaba Lalak ibn Abdullah ibn Jerr RA died 55 AH (which has an incredible 1400 year old olive tree growing outside it)

More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/palestine/other/mosque_of_yunus_as.html

Masjid Yunus AS (Makam) on Halnoun

Old Olive tree and Grave of Lalak ibn Abdullah RA

6) Hebron/Khalil - Graves of Ibrahim AS, Isaac AS, Yaqub AS and wives including Sarah, Rufqah and Ruqayah (mimber from Salahuddin Ayubi).

More info http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/palestine/other/majid_khalil.html

Outside Masjid Ibrahim in Khalil / Hebron

Inside Masjid Ibrahim

Ghost Town - Streets of Khalil

Graffiti in Streets of Khalil

Abu Mazen Restaurant

Then had a meal of stuffed chicken at Abu Mazan in Hebron / Khalil



7) Bin Naim - Masjid where Lut AS stayed (prayed Asr) and visited Mount where Ibrahim AS made sijdah when he saw the punishment of Lut's AS people, Masjid Yakeen there are second footprints.
Grave of Fatima bint Husain bin Ali RA in same area (i.e. grand-daughter of Ali RA)

Makam Lut AS in Bin Naim

Mountain where Ibrahim AS did sijdah when seeing punishment of Lut's town

Spot where Ibrahim AS did sijdah

More info: http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/palestine/other/tomb_of_lut_as.html

8) Lod - Place where Dajjal is destroyed by Isa AS and then Markaz Dawah (maghrib in same place Masjid Lod)

Lod

9) Daoon Anwas - Graves of 14000 sahaabas who died in a plague


10) Bait Hanina - Esha in Masjid Hijrah, right near the Wall

Konafa in Haj Jafar

Then had Konafa (Palestinian dessert made of cheese, crumble and nuts) at Haj Jafar famous dessert place

We got back to Jerusalem at around 11pm

Costs:
Taxi for tour: 1700sh (£288)
Lunch for 7 (dawat AG): 260sh (££44)
Dessert 4 plates: 24sh (£4)

Note: We never had much time to shop around and negotiate for the taxi cost of the tour, we think we paid too much but between the two people recommended to us that we spoke to this one was much cheaper (the other brother, Abu Saleh, who is well known in the area and speaks good English wanted 400sh each = 2400sh/£400 for the day). If people have more time they should ask more people and shop around and probably can get a better rate. They should also try to find an English speaking driver, we made do with Br Abdul Wahab as me and my brother can speak enough Arabic to explain what we needed to.