My heart suddenly sank into deep sadness to see the place where the prophets used to live and gave dakwah . This is the land of the prophets; Ibrahim(as), Ayub(as) and their descendants. The weather was unbelievably hot but they’re blessed with olives, tin and pistachios. Plenty of them and the farm stretched out as far as the eyes can see.
Namrud was here too. The remnants of his legacy were still visible around this city. Somehow the harsh reality of its landscape reflects the hard life that the people here used to endure. My emotions went haywire when I saw the empty land as I traveled out of town to visit Helfati, a small ancient town at the bank of River Furat. For more than an hour when I looked outside I saw a vast empty lands. The land sat still ,silent; only the wind occasionally blew some dried bushes. As if it has been keeping secrets of the past down deep inside.
Yesterday when the sun turning soft and less intimidating, we went out to Balikligol, the birthplace of Prophet Ibrahim (as). It was about half an hour walk from the hotel. The Sunday’s crowd filled up the place. Some were having picnics and some seemed to chit chat over chaŷ( mengeteh la…). The place was maintained since 500 BC ,believe it or not, by the Jews, Christians and Muslim. During the Abbasid dynasty it was turned into a madrasah. Nowadays , it is a park for Sunday’s picnics. Nevertheless,I felt lucky to be able to visit this place during the month of Zulhijjah. Eidul adha will be a special celebration indeed.
We arrived in Old Helfati around noon and the heatwave was like burning your face off. I was skeptical of what this place will offer. We booked a river cruise and waited. The place looked like an abandoned pier and cruising in the middle of the day did not seem a good idea. But I kept quiet as promised not to explode unnecessarily.
Finally we stepped onto the boat with the sun right above but the water kept us cool a bit. The young lad started the engine and let it run for a while. Kena sidai lagi, dang!
When the boat started moving and the music started banging in the background, the cruise went alive. The wind blew crazily chasing away the heat. I got into the flow of the waves and everything settled down. I was cruising down the River Furat.Cool.
