It all started five years back when I travelled from India to Portugal for the very first time in my life. Working as a telecommunication engineer I used to travel a lot within India for my job & I was used to it but, like many other Muslim travelers after landing on a foreign land I lately realized that I missed so many things which I should have taken care of.
While I checked into the hotel I was completely unaware about the nearest mosque & to my surprise also about the qibla direction. I suddenly realized that I forgot to put the prayer mat with my luggage & finally managed with a bed-sheet. As a practicing Muslim my conscious was constantly pinching me to complete my prayers & to get connected to a spiritual environment in & outside my hotel room.
Finally things moved on & I was lucky enough to have two Egyptian colleagues in the office with the help of them I managed to attend my Friday prayers in a mosque which was 30 KMs away from the office & a half an hour drive by car.
When it came to have my meals I searched for a vegetarian or Muslim restaurant out of so many but, I could not found any one of them in my vicinity. People around me did not understand English; most of them only speak Portuguese. At that day I realized that having sufficient money in pocket was not enough to bring a halal meal for myself. The office canteen was almost same like any other street restaurant; there were common plates & dishes used across the canteen. They were serving non-halal meat (beef, pork, etc), wine & beer, etc obviously not a favorable place for me to eat. Later on, I found an Indian restaurant owner who was not serving pork in his kitchen & I made it my food destination for my complete stay.
The European land is clean, green & very beautiful sight at least for Indian travelers. On weekends I used to roam around the nearby beaches, castles & few hill stations around my hotel. While exploring the castles I got to know that there was a very famous Moorish castle built by Moors (Muslims from Morocco) in 800 AD & it had a good Islamic history associated with it. I had gone through that & it was a very good piece of information for me to share with my friends & relatives.
After 3 weeks the month of Ramadan has started & till then I was aware about the religious places & some Muslim food joints. With the help of Allah almighty I managed to complete my fasts (15 hour single stretch) very smoothly. The trip ended after 3 more weeks & I landed to my home few days prior to Eid. It was a life changing journey & has changed me a lot in terms of my spirituality, beliefs & practices. I realized the big value of small things that are around us that we usually ignore. May it be a small food joint where I can eat, may it be people around me who understand my language, small old mosques at every other street in my city, everything. I thank Allah for showing me the right path. May Allah guide all of us the right way & give strength to us to cope up with our own self.
Today I am very happy to promote the
world's first halal travel info website which is offering various halal
friendly services for a Muslim traveler. Where to eat, where to go, which
places to see, where to stay, etc.
Halal Tourism is not only restricted
to Muslim Travelers but can also be experienced by any other traveler who would
like to feel and explore the experience.
Halal Friendly Services
Providing
1. Prayer Facilities
2. Qiblah Direction: A
Sticker to show the direction for Praying
3. Information on Nearest Masjid to
the Property
4. Information on Closest Muslim
Restaurants, Veg Restaurants & Halal Restaurants and much more.
For offers & discounts please
contact
Asad Khan
Mail
- asad.halaltripinfo@gmail.om
Mob
+91-9926281124
To be continued Inshallah.......................
