Overseas Trip to Mecca, Madinah, and Turkey : Tracing Islamic Civilisation On Two Continents
Overseas program has been one of the regular programs held by Tazkia IIBS to broaden knowledge and culture. On February 20 - March 4, some of the students in year VIII and XI went on a trip to Mecca, Madinah, and Turkey, titled "Umrah and Civilisation Study". It is supposed to provide them understanding about Islamic Civilisation in the cities visited.
The first destination was Bursa in Turkey, located in snow mountains, Ulugdag Hill. To get onto the top, students should ride teleferik or cable car. The long exhausted trip from Indonesia to Turkey could be paid with the beauty of Bursa and Uludag Plateu.
After enjoying the beautiful landscape, the team headed to Istanbul University, to see great university building since the time of Roman Empire. Also, the students saw the learning process there, thus they could have additional options to decide overseas universities they would like to attend.
Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and Grand Mosque became the following destinations. In addition, one of the world legacies in Istanbul, Hagia Shopia, the museum with special architecture from Byzantium and Ottoman Empire, was visited to see how it had transformed from church, mosque, to museum.
After spending some days in Turkey, they continue the tour to Madinah, visiting the main spot, Nabawi mosque. The students learnt about life span of The Prophet and his friends. Praying in Raudhah, the most glorious place in Nabawi mosque, and stopping by the tomb of The Prophet, Abu Bakar, and Umar Bin Khattab.
Baqi' Tomb, where friends and relatives of The Prophet were buried, in the east part of Nabawi mosque was also visited. It has historical value and special to the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Following the pilgrimage, the group continued the trip to Madinah Islamic University. Fortunately, there was held cultural exhibition presented by multi-ethnic students. It showed students non-academic activities in Madinah Islamic University.
The journey abroad closed by umrah in Mecca. The tour to Mecca, Madinah, and Turkey is designed to learn about Islamic Civilisation history from the original source, mainly for them who would study abroad to those countries.