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Tomb of Salahuddin Ayyubi |
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The green tomb on the right (refer to the picture above) houses the grave of Salahuddin Ayyubi, the Muslim general who fought the Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin in northern Palestine and recaptured Jerusalem for the Muslims on 2nd October 1187 CE. On the left is an empty marble sarcophagus donated by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany to the mausoleum. Salahuddin Ayyubi’s real name was Yusuf ibn Ayyub, the title of Salahuddin “The righteousness of the faith” was given to ... Read more |
Travel Articles
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By Amna Khalique Visiting Seychelles is like stepping back in time into another realm. Calm, serene, phenomenally gorgeous beaches, so many species of wildlife – you will definitely be tempted to visit each year. With a population of approximately 90,000 in the entire archipelago consisting of 115 islands, Seychelles is natural, untouched beauty at its best. The dream to visit Seychelles started when I was in high school and I heard about fishing in glass-bottomed boats. I was told the water so clear that you could almost... | |
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By Irfan Ahmad “My bags are packed. I am ready to go. … I am leaving on a jet plane….” The strains of the John Denver song are permanently etched in my mind. It takes me about 10 minutes to put together my stuff for a trip that could keep me on the road for ten days. I have several hundred thousand air miles under my belt and I do not recall a single month in the last ten years when I have been in one city for over 30 days. No. I am not George Clooney and this is not about the million... | |
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By Irfan Ahmad It was early afternoon when I walked up the steps to the French Embassy in London. It had closed its doors for the day. But I was confident that I would be able to get in and have a visa stamped on my passport. I had used wasta (connections). If you have a Pakistani passport and are visiting London for a few days, the chances are that the Embassy will ask you to go back to Pakistan and get a visa there. Someone I know had a friend whose father was a former Ambassador in Paris. He had pulled some strings. “Why... | |
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By Irfan Ahmad Living in Dubai has its downsides. A few years back, when we landed at Heathrow, my then five year old son looked around and said, “Why is this airport so dirty?” Granted, London Heathrow's Terminal 5 was still a couple of years away, but the aseptic environment of Dubai poses a number of challenges for destinations targeting the Middle East traveler. Even before we had come to Dubai, we had acquired the habit of taking off on an annual summer vacation on the day the children got their... | |
 | By Irfan Ahmad The bed sheets felt fresh and crisp. The duvet was inviting. The heavenly bed seemed heavenly. After a 10 hour flight to Cape Town, sleep was what I craved. But a hungry stomach had other designs on my time. I went down to the Westin’s restaurant and ordered Tom Yom soup and a veggie pizza. The strange combination reflected the state I was in. The next morning I was joined by two dozen others who had come from destinations as diverse as San Francisco, Mumbai,... | |
 | By Irfan Ahmad It was 2:00 am when we landed. Climbing down the stairs from the aircraft we could see that the tarmac had freshly been washed. Small puddles bore traces of the rain shower that we had missed. The rugged mountains around us and the glaciers visible in the distance made us zip up our jackets – it was cool outside. Pleasant, but not cold. It was the middle of July. We were at Longyearbyen Airport, Svalbard – the northernmost inhabited city in the world. And at 2:00 am it... | |
Irhal - Destination Guides and Travel Information - Halal Travel Guide
