A visit to the ‘Forbidden Land’ (Israel & Palestine)
I had a dream of visiting ‘Jerusalem’ for as long as I can remember. I had inherited this love for #QiblaeAwwal and #Jerusalem from my parents especially my dad, who was an avid traveler and had a strong wish to visit Jerusalem but couldn’t; because he was a Pakistani passport holder. I wish my father Chaudhry Khurshid Anwar was alive to see this day, unfortunately we lost him in 2014. May his soul rest in eternal peace, Ameen.
When I came to US, I pledged to myself to visit this revered city as soon as I receive my blue passport. In December 2016, a few months after becoming US Citizen, I visited Israel and prayed at Masjid e Aqsa, Dome of the Rock (Qubbatussakhra), roamed freely in the old streets of Jerusalem, felt the auspicious history in the oldest cities known to human civilization; Bethlehem, Hebron (AlKhalil), DeadSea and Jericho (Ariha) and got a chance to interact with the locals be it Muslims, Christians or Jews; and found out everyone had their own stories yet very sacred, unique and holy connection to this land. It was an amazing experience to be at a place which is so unfamiliar to us and where not many Pakistanis’ were able to set foot before.
I’ve arranged a pictorial glimpse from my long-awaited journey to Israel with description of different Holy places and cities.
ایں سعادت بزور ِبازو نیست
تا نہ بخشد خدائے بخشندہ
