The Story Of Karbala

For those of you who don't know, thousands of years ago, there was a battle in Karbala. To this day, Shia Muslims mourn over the martyrdom of Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, his children and his brother, Abbas. They also mourn over how his sister, AlSayeda Zainab Bint Ali was unjustly treated. His daughters Ruqaya, Sukainah and Um Kulthoom were also tortured and whipped.

I traveled to Iraq for a week; I visited Najaf where Imam Ali's shrine is and then I visited Karbala where Imam Hussein and his brother, Abbas Ibn Ali's shrines are. Its also know that Ali Al-Asghar who was 6 months old and is the youngest martyr in the battle of Karbala is buried on his father's (Hussein Ibn Ali) chest.
In the Battle of Karbala, the army of Yazid had stopped the family of Hussein from receiving any drop of water, Ali Al-Asghar and all the children were very thirsty so they were constantly crying. Imam Hussein carried his 6 months old son to the army of Yazid, showing them the child's bad condition; hoping they'd supply his baby a few drops of water. While carrying his baby, someone from Yazid's army shot 3 arrows at Ali Al-Asghar and killed the youngest child of Hussein. It has been said that it was an attempt to kill Hussein but the baby moved which caused the arrows to hit him instead.

Ali Al-Akbar was Imam Hussein's oldest son, its known that he was a great warrior, he was so much like his great grandfather, Muhammed Peace Be Upon Him that Imam Hussein said, "whenever I remember my maternal grandfather I look at Akbar." Akbar killed many of the strong warrior, no one came close to him because he was an incredible warrior. Ali Al-Akbar was killed by Murrah ibn Munqad who threw a spear right into Ali's chest. After throwing the spear, he brutally removed the wooden part of the spear so that the blade would get stuck in Ali's chest and he'll be in more pain. Hussein removed the blade out of his beloved son's chest and that was when he saw Ali's heart come out with the blade.

Abbas Ibn Ali, Hussain's brother was killed while he went to the Furat/Alqama lake to get water for his family, he was hit by arrows; he focused on saving the water more than saving his life because he had promised his family he'd come back with water. Yazid's army caused Abbas Ibn Ali to loose both of his hands. Abbas Ibn Ali's death shows loyalty. He sacrificed his life trying to get the water to Hussein's tent.

Imam Hussein Ibn Ali was killed by arrows hitting him all over his body, after he died, horses were forced to walk upon his dead body; his body was crushed and he was beheaded as well. To this day, Imam Hussain Ibn Ali is the only martyr who has been killed this brutally.


Ali Ibn Hussein Zain-AlAbidin was ill during the battle. When Shimr (the man who killed Hussein Ibn Ali) found Imam Zain-Albidin he was about to kill him but Zain Alabidin's aunt, Zainab was there and she stopped Shimr. For twenty years whenever food was placed before him, he would weep. One day a servant said to him, "O son of Allah’s Messenger! Is it not time for your sorrow to come to an end?" He replied, "Woe upon you! Jacob the prophet had twelve sons, and Allah made one of them disappear. His eyes turned white from constant weeping, his head turned grey out of sorrow, and his back became bent in gloom, though his son was alive in this world. But I watched while my father, my brother, my uncle, and seventeen members of my family were slaughtered all around me. How should my sorrow come to an end?"

All the members of Hussein Ibn Ali's family who survived (women, children and the sick Ali Ibn Al Hussein Zain Al Abidin) were taken to Al-Sham (Syria and Lebanon) to Yazid and tortured. The dead bodies weren't buried for 40 days. Some people say that one of Hussein's supporters buried them but others say that Hussein's sister, Zainab came back in the 10th of Safar and buried them. Its a fact that Zainab came to her family's dead bodies on the 10th of Safar but it isn't confirmed whether it was the first 40 days after Hussein's death or a year later.

Millions of people visiting the shrine of Hussein Ibn Ali

Note: My next blog post will be about the travel itself.

Day Seven.

Today is my last day in Georgia, so this will be my last post in Georgia.


 I made sure to eat a light breakfast so i wouldn't get sick at night or anything. I had a small piece of cake, a banana and a cup of coffee.

Today we visited a park which had all sorts of fun rides, which was satisfying for all age groups. We stayed in the park until noon and then headed to an Iranian Restaurant for lunch. The owner of the restaurant was an Iranian man, originally from Shiraz who have come to the country to develop his business; he said that the reason he came to Tbilisi is because the people are very welcoming and kindhearted which is actually true.

 We spent the whole afternoon till night walking in the streets of the beautiful city of warmth. We went to see the fountains and then walked to the hotel. Our walk and stopping to take pictures took 2 and a half hours, we reached to our hotel at 7:30.

 Today was an effortless and simple day, we didn't want to get exhausted for our flight tonight. Sorry if today's post is short but i have to go to the airport in 5 hours!

Day Six.

Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia and it is the biggest and most developed part of the country. The official religion of the Georgians is The Christian Orthodox.

Today, we visited some churches to learn about the history of Georgia and how it has developed to its official religion.

#1:

This is the church in which Christianity was introduced to the Georgians. A man first came to the country and kept the cross in the middle of the barren land then people came and started praying and were introduced to the story of baby Jesus.

A view near the church where two of the biggest rivers in the country, join each other.

#2:

This was the largest church in the country 3 years ago. Now, its the 2nd largest church. It had water that was believed to cure many diseases therefor people got into Christianity, that's also the reason why the church is called "The Life Giving Pillar".
It was also believed that a man had bought the robe that the Christ was wearing on the day he was killed and the man's sister took the robe and refused to hand it to anyone; she was also killed and buried under the church with the Christ's robe.


We also visited some famous tourist sites like The Mother Of Georgia:

The Mother Of Georgia is a statue that symbolizes the power of women in the country. During the war, women were also involved. What the statue is trying to point out is that the women of Georgia are as strong as the men; the woman is holding a sword in one hand which shows her strength and wine which shows her love for her visitors and loved ones.


That was the end of our tour but we also went for a 45 minutes walk at night.

This statue shows one of the old Georgian kings who stood with his country, worked and fought hard to gain the independence of his country.

The end of our walk.

Day Five.

Today wasn't eventful. We were in the bus for 8 hours, from Batumi to Tbilisi. We reached to Tbilisi and arrived at Citadines Apart' Hotel.  Its a 5 stars hotel that is located in the heart of Tbilisi. 

After resting, we went to the Freedom Square. Then we headed to see the historical and breathtaking sights of the city. 

I don't want to stop the post here so i have decided to give tips. 

HOW TO SURVIVE A 8 HOUR BUS RIDE:

1. ALWAYS keep your phone charged. 

2. You should always have a portable charger. 

3. Make sure the bus you're in is comfortable. 

4. Try to sleep as much as you can. 

5. Don't sit next to a talkative person unless you want a headache. 

6. Make sure to have pain killers just incase you get bus sick. 

7. Have your headphones with you to keep you entertained.

8. Take pictures of sights you find beauty in. 

9. Have a first aid kit.

10. Wear comfortable clothes. 

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, i couldn't take pictures because my phone died. 

Day Five.

Today wasn't eventful. We were in the bus for 8 hours, from Batumi to Tbilisi. We reached to Tbilisi and arrived at Citadines Apart' Hotel.  Its a 5 stars hotel that is located in the heart of Tbilisi. 

After resting, we went to the Freedom Square. Then we headed to see the historical and breathtaking sights of the city. 

I don't want to stop the post here so i have decided to give tips. 

HOW TO SURVIVE A 8 HOUR BUS RIDE:

1. ALWAYS keep your phone charged. 

2. You should always have a portable charger. 

3. Make sure the bus you're in is comfortable. 

4. Try to sleep as much as you can. 

5. Don't sit next to a talkative person unless you want a headache. 

6. Make sure to have pain killers just incase you get bus sick. 

7. Have your headphones with you to keep you entertained.

8. Take pictures of sights you find beauty in. 

9. Have a first aid kit.

10. Wear comfortable clothes. 

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, i couldn't take pictures because my phone died. 

Day Four.

Today is our third and last day in Batumi, were going to Tbilisi tomorrow morning. Our guide gave us as a free day so we could go wherever we want and do whatever we want. 

Basically, we found good resturants and ate all day, lol. Other than eating, we went to the waterfalls. 

These waterfalls were naturally formed centuries ago. The waterfalls are located in Batumi, very close to the border of Turkey (2 KM). 

We were supposed to visit Turkey today and stay there for a few hours but the plan got cancelled due to our circumstances. 

After the waterfalls, we went to our hotel "Era Palace" which is a 4 stars hotel, located in the heart of Batumi. The hotel is sorrunded by shops, pharmacies, taxis and everything we need, which made our trip easier. 

We then went to the park next to our hotel and watched the "Dancing Fountain" but i couldn't take pictures because both my camera and phone died. 

Watching fountains for too long will definitely get boring, so that led to us renting bikes and riding them around the park for a few hours. 

Due to the exhaustion of riding bikes for too long, we went to a Georgian-Arabic restaurant for dinner. The restaurant contained satisfying food for all types of costumers. 

I can happily state that our free day was a day well spent.  

Day Three.

Georgia has been through many wars. Georgia was originally a part of Russia but after their war, it has been an independent country. The country isn't well developed and they have just recently got a government.

First off, we went to the Narikala Frotress. The Turkish Army used The Narikala Frotress for protection in a war in the 10-12th century. Georgia is always in good terms with the Turkish people, to this day, some Turkish people live in Batumi. 

Our second stop was the Batonical Garden Of Batumi. This garden was made on top of th mountains and its filled with  fruit making trees that will produce fruits by next month. 

Our last stop, was the telefreak which allowed us to view the breathtaking views of the country from above. The surface of Georgia, specifically, Batumi, is a greenery, mountained surface. 

Georgia is also striving to be an independant country. It has started to build its own cars with the help of the famous car brands like "Mercedes-Benz". The country also produces various types of fruits and vegetables. Including cotton, which helps the country in creating its own clothes. 

Georgia is a jawdropping country which is striving for development. The country may not be very developed right now, but in 10 years, it might be because the people in the country are very hard working. 

Sorry for the late post, the wifi was very slow, day four will be posted later today. 

 

Day Two.

Georgia is a big country that has a population of only 2 million people; very little for such a vast place. Georgian people speak their own language which consists of Turkish, Russian and a language they have invented and nowadays their schools teach English as well but not many people understand English yet.

For some reason or maybe just because I'm adventurous, my family and I have decided to visit this soon to be popular country.

We woke up today morning at 7:30 and had breakfast at 8. I didn't have anything other than coffee because I'm Muslim and Georgia isn't an Islamic country so we don't know what kind of meat we can and cannot eat. I'm with a tour that consists of 45 people -give or take- most of which are adults, just a few children; so we waited for them and them left the resort in Kutaisi and headed to Batumi.

Before we reached to Batumi, we had a few stops.
First stop: Cave.

 The cave was found in the 1800's and is still being discovered. It is estimated that the rocks were there for more than a few million years. It consists of 16 holes but only 6 has been properly discovered and are confirmed to be safe. In the holes, there is low temperature and high humidity which can lead to slipping so we have to be extra careful. Bats also used to live inside the cave but they moved away as soon as humans started exploring their habitat.




Second stop: Dinosaur Park and River.
The Dinosaur Park had bones and footsteps of Dinosaurs, which were found almost 12 million years ago. We then saw a river which wasn't part of our tour but i thought it looked ravishing so i decided to take a picture.

Third stop: WC & Hotel.
As usual, we had a bathroom break and went to a small coffee shop to have a cup of coffee and croissant. The way to the Hotel was approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. We reached to our hotel in Batumi which is a 4 stars hotel and looked pretty good.
At night, our group of 45 people went out together for dinner. We had planned to eat at one of the fancy restaurants in the city but because it was a Sunday night and the restaurant was very crowded, we somehow ended up in McDonald.  

Georgia: Day One.

I packed all my necessary stuff (clothes, gadgets, etc) 2 days before my flight date.

A novel (The Maze Runner) to keep me entertained during the flight.
Iphone(not in picture) and Iphone charger.
Pistachios and Cashews to stop hunger and cravings.
Earphones.
Camera to take pictures for the blog and memories.
Laptop and Laptop Charger for blogging.

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Our flight was very tiring; we went to the airport at 6 pm and then went to Dubai at 11 pm, our flight to Georgia (Tblisi) was at 2:20 am and i am the kind of person that cant sleep in an airplane no matter how tired she is. I didn't not sleep that night and we reached to Tblisi at 6:10 in the morning, the bus that was supposed to take us to our hotel got delayed so we stayed 5 more hours in the airport, at 11:00 we finally left the airport. Our bus trip from the airport to the hotel took 3 hours and 30 minutes, we were exhausted but as soon as we reached to the hotel, we changed and went out and then i realized all the tiredness was worth it. The country is beautiful and full of art and history, its also exciting. Today, we went to the historical places that are in Tblisi and then we went to a cultural event. Tomorrow, were moving to Batomi which is actually another breathtaking place that has the coast of the black sea and many other exciting activities.

Our tour bus

Our Resort

Old church built in the 11-12th century.