Arrived in Istanbul early before Fajr. So the next mission was to find mescit or surau. As I followed the sign,it went round and around, popping on and off with no surau in sight. I asked around and they showed that way and that way. More confused and started to be irritated. Fajr would end soon and still I was running up and down the alley of this big airport. Finally I found it and done my prayers. Alhamdulillah. I hate to compromise solat while travelling so hope for this tour package not to compromise it as well. But again …….
By 7:25 am we were on the runaway for a flight to Skopje, Macedonia. A short one hour 25 mins flight. with Turkish Airline.
The sun already streaming through the windows as the plane taxiing for a take-off. The glimpse of Istanbul reminded me the last time we visited this magnificent place. A country rich with Islamic and pre-Islamic civilization, cultures and beliefs. A country split between religious holistic and modern secular. Between Erdagon and Mustafa Kamal Attartuk. Last time when we went around Turkiye the spirit and idolation of MK still lived on.
Skopje is a city with a sad story. A beautiful place being used,exploited and left to ruin. The Greeks ruled for some time then the Ottoman came and introduced Islam. Modern day Skopje was mainly under Yugoslavia until the socialist states collapsed and Macedonia got its independence.But the state and its people were left with nothing to munch on other than a weird distorted state of minds. But that will heal in time. The new leaders (as narrated by our tour guide) have fantastic vision for the country but the plan remained a plan and the funds dispersed into the air.The country remains poor.
Anyway, we were placed at a hotel in the old city. The part where the Turks from ancient Ottoman Empire still exist. The mosques, old bazaar, stoned road, narrow streets and cafe continue to paint life from the past.
at one point we went through a back alley to reach an old “han”. In the old days traders with huge caravan would come to a city with a band of guards on horses. They would stable their horses and fed them nicely at the lower level of the han and the guards slept on the upper floor. The traders would sell their stuff around this han and soon became a bazaar. In cities like Bursa, Istanbul, Konya and the like the old bazaar exists next to this han. This particular han in Skopje has its glorious days long gone. Now the place has been turned into a madrasa but looked so neglected. At the four corners there were some restaurants with the court yard left unattended. In Turkey , similar place would still be busy with shoppers and traders.
I spent Dzuhr at the mosque. One of the many mosques still run and maintained by the Turkish Embassy. The running of the mosque seemed to be the same as in Turkey so do all the architecture and ambience of the inside. Beautifully decorated and maintained. To my surprise, Dzuhr prayer was a full house despite at the beginning the place looked deserted. So Islam is well protected and practiced . Alhamdulillah. Remember that Muslim is now a minority in Macedonia. Even the Muslim hesitated to be indentified as a Muslim. The results of being under socialism and communism for so many years.
By 8:00 am we left Skopje.
