Egypt : Ainel Shaeer Springs...

From Qarun's Castle, we went to Ainel Shaeer's Springs. It is actually a natural water spring. According to Hairul's it's been there for thousand of years and the water's full of minerals. The water pressure of the springs was enough to generate several water fountains naturally without using any pumps. We managed to take our wudhu' there and prayed at a surau in the area.

The minerals content...

Tasting the water...

Aliah, rock star?!!

Performing ablutions...

The steps to the water springs...

Running back to the van...

The kids playing...

Herd back to the van, more likely...hehehe

Happy Birthday, Mamud!

Mamud...

Happy Birthday dear brother... you're all I've got left :)

Take Care and God Blessed!

Egypt : Qarun's castle...

The signage of Qasr Qarun...

Our next destination was Qarun's Castle. Qarun used to be poor but he asked Nabi Musa to pray to Allah and give him riches. Allah gave him riches and more. He became the richest man on earth. The first year, he was generous to the poor, paid his zakat etc. But as the years passed he became greedy and kept his riches to himself. Because of that, he was punished by God. His castle was buried under the earth with all its glory. His ware house became a lake etc.

The only proved that it ever happened was the leftover tower which still could be seen nowadays. When we reached the site, we opted not to pay the entrance fee because according to Hairul, there was nothing to see at the site anyway. The tower was emptied of all its riches years ago, of course. So, instead we took pictures from the side of the road.

I think of all my kids, Hadi remembered the story about Qarun the best... hehehe, because now if his brother does not want to share his things, he would say, "don't be like Qarun..." ...hehehe.

Listening to Hairul...

From afar...

What's left of the Castle...

Our family minus Aliah...

Egypt : Panoramic view...

Looks like a painting...

When I was in Faiyoum, I wish I had a better camera because the view was beautiful. At certain angles, it looked like a painting. Masyaallah... But I also discovered that my new camera was not so bad. The zoom capability was quite powerful. It helped because I did not have to crawl up and down the ravine to get good pictures...hehehe.

Beautiful...

From afar...

Zoom in...

From afar...

Zoom in...

I love this picture...

I love the pictures of the water reeds. I don't know why but maybe because it looked so romantic...hehehe

Alahai Amir...

That day in Faiyoum was perfect for a walkabout. It was quite cool but we were warmed by the sun. The only complaint I had was that it was so sunny and bright. So bright sometimes that we had to squint. Amir took matters in his own hand and found a perfect solution to the problem... Hehehe...

It was so bright...

He found a perfect solution!

Egypt : The waterfall in Faiyoum...

Our first stop was the waterfalls in Faiyoum. Waterfalls in the middle of a desert? Yes, out of nowhere we'll see two lakes, one higher than the other and the difference in height formed a small waterfall. It was definitely very small compared to other waterfalls but still a miracle because it exists where it shouldn't be any...right in the middle of a vast desert.

The signage leading to the waterfall

My little explorer...

We had to tread through the desert sand to reach the waterfall, which was hidden by some bushes. The waterfall itself was smaller than the waterfall in Templer's Park in Rawang but the kids find it exciting nevertheless. They started exploring along the ravine, much to our consternation...sigh... Enjoy the pictures...

The kids...

The small waterfall...

We managed to catch up with Amir...

They were too far...

Aliah, the scaredy-cat...

This is the second level...

Our family...

The force of the water...

The foam...

Hadi was happy being on his own...

Kak Long...

We walked towards shore of the lower lake. The kids managed to find many things to pick up from the water's edge...shells, dead plants etc. My collector aka Hadi was busy picking up many things of his interest...hehehe

Amir and Tareq...

Macam2 diorang kutip...sigh

Egypt : Tasik Qarun...

On the morning of the 28th, we started the journey to Faiyoum. The journey took about 1 1/2 hours. Instead of Afzan as the guide, we had Hairul, a young newlywed (just got married for 3 months). As soon as we reached the border of Faiyoum, we were stopped by the police and to our surprise, they started to escort us. The journey from then on was slower because the police's jeep was so slow...sigh.

I was captivated when Hairul started telling us about the history of the area. The first shock came when he told us that the lake on our right was also known as Tasik Qarun (Qarun's lake). It used to be Qarun's warehouse. My goodness, the lake was so huge! It looked practically like a sea! Imagine how rich Qarun was. Subhanallah...

It was said that the key to Qarun's warehouse was so heavy that it took many people to carry it. Seriously, the lake was huge! Hairul told us that maybe because the lake was cursed that it had a bad smell and not many fish could live there. The water for the surrounding farms was taken from the Nile and not from the lake because the water from the lake was foul.

Imagine, the wrath of Allah... Qarun lived during nabi Musa's time (more than a thousand years ago) and yet the remains were still there for us to see and hopefully learn from. It was really a humbling experience for me. I told the kids that they have to share their wealth with those more unfortunate than them and pay out zakat. I think Hadi took it to heart because now when he didn't want to share his things, I would say, "Don't be...", he would finish it for me and say "...like Qarun"...hehehe

It looks like the sea...

The water smells bad...

From afar...

Huge...

Our family minus Hadi...