The Great Kaaba

By Mohammad

On January 24, 2009, my family decided to take a trip to Makkah from Riyadh. I was not even three years old then.  At first, my family went to a hotel to stay the night, we woke up and went to the Kaaba.  The steady air passed as the warm air took its place in.  The beautiful scene attracted animals and people.  The humid weather trapped the sensible smell.  There was delectable lickable food at the exclusive restaurant, Al-Baik, mmm!  They had the best fried chicken!

Secondly, we went and found a spot to rest and pray the daily salat.  I remember that
I did not like the rough sound of people talking. It made me a little annoyed and sweat made my nose crumble.  However, I enjoyed the amazing view of the high chained black mountains and doves flying around. I played with the free birds and ran back and forth. It was the best part!

Soon, my family went around the Ka’aba and the two mountains Safa and Marua seven times. This ritual is performed to remember, commemorate, and live the experience of the prophet Abraham’s family when they first arrived at this place. Our feet tangled together and were sore after more than an hour of walking, running, and hiking the mountains. Yet, the exciting view we got when we reached the top point of the mountains encouraged us to keep going.

Finally, after we were done, we drank a lot of Makkah’s special water, Zamzam. It is so special that it exploded from the ground right next to the Ka’aba. That was when the angel Gabriel hit the ground with his wing for Ismael (Ishmael) to drink after his mother’s desperate attempts hiking the two mountains up and down looking for water to give to her baby. Zamzam water does not taste like regular water because it comprised of a different formula of minerals than regular water. It tasted interesting. It is also used for healing purposes. I felt good when I drank it, so I liked the way I ended my journey.