innocence

heh..still can't get over this skema + jujur conversation;

"ayah, ammar ade buat kesalahan" ----> a sentence tht made my mom anxious the whole night n cudn't sleep tight.

"kesalahan apenya?"

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1 day later..

"ammar hilang duit 4o ringgit,"

sensasi atau disensasikan?

[religious issue (???) ----> linguistic issue ----> races (or racist??) issue ] @ political agenda (??)

Let's ask our selves,

We're a Muslim first or a Malay first?

Beliefs come first or verbal utterance comes first?

..jawab dalam hati sudeyy. Yang penting, be a rational Muslim/Malay..not just another emotional Malay/Muslim.

"Ikutkan hati mati, ikutkan nafsu lesu, ikutkan Al-Quran menuju kejayaan"..random pulak eh!

..dan ikutkan malas, dissertation tak siap!hehehe(^_^)

andalucia parte III - Sevilla

**it's snowing outside..hati senangggg..haha

k our next destination was Sevilla. It was jst a 2++ hrs drive frm Malaga. Our stay in Sevilla was indeed one of the best!owh but here ws when the drama began. NOTE: dnt travel like us, main redah je..with no map at hand..depend solely on our gps..so sang gps ni pn bawakla ke our hostel..n to our surprise..the street was very narrow!n in fact too narrow for a car!no wonder bila kitorg masuk diz one paved street, no one gave us a weird look since it ws very normal there.

then kitorg jumpe diz one free space in front of a building..so we jst happily parked our car there la since it was super duper difficult to find a decent parking space near our hostel. dahla tuh,it was raining very heavily too!pastu we checked-in at Seville Inn Backpackers..met a group of msian students frm Cardiff there. Then at night, we watched a short performance of the famousFlamenco dance. after the show, instead of went straight to hostel, we wanted to get some food frm our car..terkejutnyer bila tgk the side mirror on the driver's side was severely broken n the there's a long scratch on the side too. adding to the shock, ade ticket saman worth 120euro skali!

Flamenco dance

our hostel area

Gitu-gini after calling the 24hr service, the tow truck came at around 12-ish midnight to get our car..communicate mcm ayam ngn itik dgn pakcik tu, when we showed him the ticket we was jst like ahhh wutever *sambil membuang ticket tu ke tanah*..apakah?but we're happy!haha!

k enough of tht, and now a lil bit of sevilla history. The legends tell tht Seville was founded by Hercules. tp x taula kan..After the conquest by the Moors, its Roman name, Hispalis was changed to Arabic name, Isbilya. Now Sevilla is one of the 4 largest cities kat spain if im not msitaken..correct me if im wrong. And was the second most important after Cordova during Moorish empire. Lepas kejatuhan Caliphate system, Andalusia was divided into almost 30 smaller kingdoms called Taifas or so called 'Party Kings' (muluk al tawa'if). The only strong state was tht of Sevilla founded by former governor Mohammed ibn-Abbad. During his legacy, Sevilla gained supremacy over other kingdoms including Cordoba.

All of these Party Kings were unable to work together due to complex political games n wars, so it really was a party for the Christians. So they had to pay heavy tribute to Christians kings present during tht time (Alfonso IV). By this time, an appeal was made to Almoravids (Al-Murabitun-the warrior monk) by some Taifas rulers(including Sevilla and Granada). Almoravids dynasty was of a Berber origin n very successful in establishing a kingdom in Maghreb (Morocco now). Almoravids ni was not very popular among the ppl coz they're said to be religious intolerence.

Then Almohads (Al-Muwahhidun-upholders of divine unity) from Cadiz pula conquered Al-Andalus and made Seville the capital of its kingdom. Almohads who were said to be somewhat more tolerant also restored the prosperity and relative peace of the region. Masa ni la terbinanya central mosque yg kini dah jd the largest gothic cathedral. Although the mosque was no more, an idea of its grandeur however can be seen frm the surviving spacious orange trees courtyard and its minaret with decorative brickwork. Minaret ni menariknya, has got no stairs..but shallow ramps! bkn sbb muezzin dlu malas naek tangge, tp bayangkn nk azan 5 kali sehari..naik menunggang kuda lg cpt kan..so sbb tu lg practical buat ramps je, xke bijak tu? n orange trees courtyard mmg very typical kat mosques in andalus, pastu ade small aqueducts utk salur air for the trees..pastu in the middle ade fountain 4 ablution..so mase ambil wudhu' tu mmg wangi jer..

the gothic cathedral n on the right is La Giralda tower or the minaret

tomb of Christopher Columbus inside the cathedral..he was unfortunately in exile after his death so his bones were everywhere..n the only thing in the tomb is his finger.

view of Seville city from La Giralda

Orange trees courtyard

La torre del oro (The Golden Tower) - built by The Moors at the banks of Guadalquivir river as a watchtower. Takes its name frm the gold tiles tht covered its exterior wall.

Sevilla was important dlu as a pit stop for any kapal yg nak gi Cordoba..they had to stop in Sevilla first (by the watchtower if im not mistaken) lebih kurang mcm "toll" laa..

Then after awhile, Almohad power started to decline and was captured by Alfonso's son, Fernando III. After their conquest that they demolished the mosque and built the cathedral, n also added a huge statue of Faith as a weathervane on top of the minaret. The name of the weathervane is La Giraldillo (now given the name of the tower as a whole)-it's still turning with the winds though as said by our tour guide.

.....to be continued

2009 recap

dpt idea wut recap frm nad, cam best jek..haha

here's the wrap-up of my 2009;

January

-A cold winter, struggled with examss

-GAZA kena serang

February

- experienced the first snow in Notts!

March

-Went to Czech Republic during easter break, had fun bertandang di umh che nad n ila

-Started Cambodia Relief Mission preparation like cake sales for fund raising

-Quite an eventful month kat notts jgak with all sorts of activities and events like Thai night, Msian night, charity dinners etc

April

-gi trip to cornwall yg best!

-my bday!tq asma anis aisyah irina maryam 4 the surprise^^

May

- the same old struggle utk exams

June & July

-Summer holidayy with frens n family!!wonderfuuul!

-Transit n melancong-lancong skejap kat Dubai..great experience..thnx to kak linda (su's cousin in law..kot) for the superb hospitality

- Went for the legendary Cambodia Relief Mission 09...really recommend this to all juniors..amazing experience

-First time sunatkan budak!thrilled!

-Cuti2 msia dgn my besties terchenta

-Visited our highskool..met cikgu2 lama..kenangan terindah lah!

August

-hampir heart attack sbb dpt brita tergempar all at once : sorang cousin accident, another cousin masuk hosp sbb coronary artery blockage, my little bro fractured his ankle, nenek sedara pula nazak di hosp

September

-Nothing much, dgn berat hatinya pulang ke Nottingham

- kehilangan ....

October & September

-Start BMedSci labwork..

December

-Another cold winter

- Early snow this time around kat notts but i missed it coz was in Andalusia for my winter holiday

btw today 1st of january is my parents' birthday..생일 축하합니다! and...모두를 당신을 감사하십시오!

hari bertinju ke berkotak?

w'pun my boxing day diz yr sehari lmbt, tp tetap mantops..kuar frm sunrise smpai ke sunset!best jgk derby, relax je unlike london yg packed mcm sardine..mayb coz it's 27 pn..so less crowded..bole bernafas n shopping in our own sweet time..

nk tercabut kpale lutut rase..since arini sunday, kdai sume commence bisnes lmbt i.e 10/11am n tutop awl i.e 430pm...malas2 la org uk ni bekerja..

tp bagos juge, kalo x ntah bape ria lg melayang..hehe

andalucia parte II - Malaga

We arrived at Malaga airport at around 7pm local hr..then went to pick up our car frm Auriga crown car rental company. They gav us a black volks wagen Polo edition. Initially ours ws something else (cudn't remember wut's the maker) but lps kitorg pujuk2 sket pakcik tuh die cair n bersempena dgn Krismas die pwn kasi r kete lawa tuh..hehehe Then we headed straight to hostel..tambah sesat2 dlm bandar 4 few hrs, Alhamdulillah we finally reached the desired destination. Sebernarnye plan nk tgk Flamenco dance tht night tp sesat lg dlm city so blk mkn maggi je laa^^

The only places we visited in Malaga were the Moorish Alcazaba, its beach, Malagueta and Picasso Museum. Picasso ni katenya was originally frm Spain tp stayed there until he ws 14 yrs old je kot pastu went abroad n never came back. Tp well, ada la jgk darah spain so they're still very proud of him. Under the Moors, Malaga ws considered to be one of the most important port. However King Fernando thoroughly ruined everything after his conquest, and after the full expulsion of the Moors, only very little of its ancient distinctions like gates remained. The terrace gardens we saw today ws frm the restoration done by the gov. Near the Alcazaba ade jgk the half-ruined Roman theatre tp tahla nmpk sign tp x nmpk pintu masok.

the fortress

garden in Alcazaba

a very fine view of Malaga city frm the top of Alcazaba

Picasso museum..utk org yg buta seni like me, agk bosan r

the man-made beach

When the Moors habitated Malaga, apart frm expanding territories, they also concentrated on expanding town on the existing Roman n Visigoth structures. Masa ni la Malaga improved their cultural, constructions n commercial activities. Tp in 11th century, adala rivalry between Moorish nobles families kat Andalusia ni...mcm2 kan? Then Malaga jatoh kpd one of the kingdom Taifas. Taifa ni means kawasan2 kecil coz masa tu Andalusia ni ws no longer under pemerintahan khalifah yg berpusat di Cordoba (ni citer nntilah) so they r divided into smaller taifas with local ruling.

Lps tu berlaku lg mcm2 kisah la which i'll elaborate more on later. The last taifa remained was Granada so Malaga stayed under different Moorish Caliphs in Malaga. Masa ni diorg bina 2 important monuments in Malaga iaitu Alcazaba n the palace, Gibralfaro.(tp kitorg x pegi pwn castle tu).

After Christians defeated the Moors, the Muslim town changed drastically into a Christian town. Mana2 Muslim families who participated on the defense were killed, exposed or sold as slaves.

Sedih kan.....=(

andalucia parte I

Modern Andalucia

jst got bck frm my winter holiday..adela jgk sket drama yg berlaku tp pape pwn tetap besttt!!we stayed in Andalusia for 8 days..2 nights in each stops i.e malaga, seville, cordoba and granada. A brief history of Andalusia;

The Andalusia name is referring to the Arabic Al-Andalus-center power of medieval Muslim-dominated peninsular Iberia. Muslims in Andalusia are referred as the Moors. Prior to this, which ws around the 4th century, Spain was under the Roman kingdom and had became a Christian country. There's quite a few architectural ruins with Roman influence tht we cn still see today like the famous Roman columns which ws also being re-used by the Moors later during their reign. After the collapse of the empire, Spain ws eventually fell under the Visigoth (Germanic). Well, there wasn't much progress in terms of civilization during the Visigothic yrs. They were said to be illiterate, selfish and bloody-minded.

Then aorund 711, Muslim troops under Tariq ibn Ziyad came to Spain through Gibraltar and with the assistance of Visigoths opposed to King Roderick, defeated the Visigoth kingdom in which King Roderic (the Visigothic ruler during tht time) ws killed. And it is said that the name of Gibraltar yg berbukit-bukau tu was given after his name i.e Jabbal al-Tariq. Certain sources also said tht Tariq who ws a Berber ws probably originally a Visigoth. The famous Tariq's address to his fellow armies which i quite like;

"Wahai saudara-saudaraku, lautan ada di belakang kalian, musuh ada di depan kalian, ke manakah kalian akan lari? Demi Allah, yang kalian miliki hanyalah kejujuran dan kesabaran. Ketahuilah bahawa di pulau ini kalian lebih terlantar dari pada anak yatim yang ada di lingkungan orang-orang hina. Musuh kalian telah menyambut dengan pasukan dan senjata mereka. Kekuatan mereka sangat besar, sementara kalian tanpa perlindungan selain pedang-pedang kalian, tanpa kekuatan selain dari barang-barang yang kalian rampas dari tangan musuh kalian. Seandainya pada hari-hari ini kalian masih tetap sengsara seperti ini, tanpa adanya perubahan yang berkesan, nescaya nama baik kalian akan hilang, rasa gentar yang ada pada hati musuh akan berganti menjadi berani kepada kalian. Oleh kerana itu, pertahankanlah jiwa kalian.”

The success of Tariq ibn Ziyad's troop in defeating the Visigoths marked the reign of Umayyad in Andalus. Umayyad dynasty based in Damascus sent in Governor to rule Andalus; the first one ws Musa ibn Nusayr (or 2nd after Tariq as said by some source) and the last one, Yusuf ibn Abd Rahman al-Fihri. Throughout, Muslim conquest had expanded to Cordova, Toledo etc. After Tariq was called back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph, Al-Walid b. Malik, he never had return bck to Europe n spent the rest of his life there in Damascus.

During the ruling under Umayyad Gavernor, so many interferences frm both internal n external factors had happened. Gangguan dalaman 4 example in between pembesar2 elite, the frictions were due to differences in opinion, ethnic n cultural background. Externally frm the remaining Muslims' enemy in Spain tht had never wnted to acknowledge Islamic ruling. Nonetheless, pemerintahan Islam terus utuh n berkembang in the entire Europe.

At around 750, Umayyad ws taken over by the Abbasids tht took control of the great Arab empire. Leaving Damascus, the capital of Abbasid empire was in Baghdad. Able to escape frm the Abbasid, Abd Rahman Ad-Dakhil travelled to Andalus and was self-proclaimed as the emir of Andalus continuing the reign of Umayyad independent of Abbasid influence in Bagdad. Abd Rahman I kingdom yg berpusat di Cordoba continued the caliphate system in governing Andalus.

......to be continued ^^