Violence at Al-Aqsa compound

I saw the news on national TV how the clash took place in one of holiest mosques form Muslims. How the Palestinians are always in the front to defend this holy site at all cost, even sacrificing their life. As a muslim, I feel so ashamed as well as sad that I could not participate in their action. I wish I could be there and be one of those who fight with stones against those modern weaponry. It makes me sad that the Palestinians alone defend the mosque while many neighboring countries did nothing but condemning and pleading Israel to stop. They could have done more if they wanted too. I wish I had power to command all Muslim countries to freeze all diplomatic and economic ties wahtsoever with that arrogant government.

Sadly, even acting PM Mahmoud Abbas did not even support the Goldstone report of human rights violation committed by Israel. His action was out of favor of the majority of palestinias while it was popular among Israel and USA. How he could he ignore the real suffering and tragedy of his people and let Israel went unpunished???

Now, it depends of Turkey's PM, Erdogan to save the day as he clearly supported Goldstone report. Many hope that Israel could be brought to justice eventhough the hope is only a slight hint of hope. I remembered how Erdogan walked away from the meeting when Israel PM was there as action of his condemnation of the Gazan slaughter. He's one of the noble character in the region and I pray that he could at least voice the truth and justice for Palestinians.

My prayers for our brothers and sisters in Palestina... you are true martyrs and May Allah grants you all eternity Jannah...

http://islamonline.com/news/articles/26/Violence-at-Al-Aqsa-compound.html

JERUSALEM: Tensions ran high after violence erupted in Jerusalem�s Old City on Sunday at Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, a site revered by Muslims and Jews that has been a major fault line in the Middle East conflict.

Palestinian youths, protesting the intrusion of Jewish occupiers, were beaten by Israeli police, who were deployed throughout the winding narrow streets of the Old City. Police also fired stun grenades, witnesses said.

Police said 17 security force members were wounded in the clashes and 11 people arrested. Witnesses reported seeing dozens of wounded Palestinians.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel was deliberately raising tensions �at a time when President (Barack) Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track.�

�Providing a police escort for settlers who are against peace at all costs, and whose presence is deliberately designed to provoke a reaction, are not the actions of someone who is committed to peace,� he said.

In Cairo, the Arab League expressed �extreme anger� over what it called a �premeditated aggression� by Israeli security forces who had allowed �Zionist extremists� into the mosque compound.

Jordan summoned Israel�s ambassador in Amman in protest over the Israeli �escalation.�

By early afternoon a tense calm reigned in the historic city, with dozens of police officers patrolling the narrow streets and barricades erected at some of the main gates along the city�s 400-year-old walls.

�There is a large police presence in the Old City ... In general, things are quiet,� police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Police and witnesses said the unrest erupted after a group of people entered the mosque compound known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Initially the police said the group was made up of Jewish worshippers, but later said they were French tourists.

�The group attacked at the mosque compound was in fact a group of non-Jewish French tourists who visited it as part of their trip,� said Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby.

�There was a large group of Jewish settlers who gathered outside Al-Aqsa and tried to break in,� said Abu Raed, a Palestinian witness. �Some of them entered and went all the way to the heart of the compound, where there were people praying ... They were Jewish settlers dressed as tourists,� he said. After entering the sprawling compound, the group was confronted by about 150 Muslims who raised slogans, police and witnesses said.

Police later blocked off the compound as speakers from mosques in the Old City urged people to gather at the site to protest.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, slammed the �dangerous escalation� and called for protests. �The occupation bears full responsibility for all the consequences and developments that will follow from this crime,� it said.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is the third holiest site in Islam and has often been the flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, erupted there after former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit in September 2000. �

Source: Arab News

THE MAGICIAN - The Secret of Nicholas Flamel's Immortality

Already finishing this book. I just found out that this is the second novel of the Legendary Alchemist Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott. I should have read the first novel. Yet, I still catch the stories.

Starting by the escape of the prophesied legendary twins, Sophie and Josh Newman through a leygate ( time travel door used by ancient elders) with the help Nicholas Flamel and Scatchach, The Shadow into Paris city from America. Behind their tail was Dr Dee, an english magician, who was obsessed to bring the Dark Elders back to rule the earth. Dee was a humani immortal who served The Dark Elders. The elders consisted of various ancient figures who had inhabited the earth long before the rise of the human including vampires, Valkyries, gods, old spiders, sorceress, etc. There were bad and good elders. The bad were called the dark elders who longed to rule once again and made human the slaves and food. It was prophosied in the Book of Mage and Abraham that legendary twins would be the final fate to save or to destroy the world. In his 450 years of life, Nicholas and Perenelle, his wife, tried to find these legendary twins to train them to save the world and destroyed the dark elders. Dee always attempted to chase them down with any means necessary including killing the humans.

In his effort, Dee was helped by the cunning Nicholo Machiavelli, another immortal who served the dark elders. It was said in this book that this Nicholo Machiavelli was the famous writer and philosopher who wrote the Prince. This was not the only real famous personages in the world history appearing in this book, there were Joan D'Arch, King Gilgamesh, Shakespeare, King Saracen who all were immortals. The writer mixed up fictionous myth, legend, as well as history. Sometimes, it's quite irriatting.

Well, back to the story, Sophie whose power has been awakened by the elder Hekate, slowly mastered two magical elements, fire and water while Josh has not yet been awakened. Jelousy often made Josh angry and envy his sister. Nicholas Flamel was on the verge of his death because the Book of the Mage and Abraham was stole by Dr. Dee. The book contained the secret formula of immortality which changed every month. Nicholas and his wife had to get the book back before the end of the month in order to create another formula for their immortality. If he failed, then he and Perenelle would aged to dusts. Luckily, Josh managed to ripped out the two last pages of the book consisting of the final summoning. Without these pages, Dr Dee could not bring the dark elders back.

Allied by dark elders and the cunning Machiavelli, Dee kept chasing the group. Nicholas needed an ally to defeat them. So he contacted his long lost apprentince and student, La Comte Saint Germain who married to Joan D'Arch, best friend of The Shadow. In history Joan was executed. In this book, she was saved by Sachcath/Scatty and taken good care of by Nicholas and Perenelle. Due to her severe wounds, she lost so much blood and Scatty had given Joan her blood that finally tranformed her into an immortal. Scatty was a vampire, a vegetarian vampire and the sun did not kill her, she ate all but meat and blood. While Saint Germain found secret of immortality by himself. Together they tried to protect the Silver Sophie and The Gold Josh.

In their battles, they had to face the ancient monster Nidhog and the warrior maids, the Valkyries. Josh was given Clarent, a Sword of Fire, to defend himself. This sword was the twin of Excalibur, the Sword of ice. Dee was long had been searching for Clarent. Dee was cunning and persuasive. He succeded to persuade Josh to leave his group for Dee knew that Josh was jeolous of his sister power. He and Machievelli promised him that they would bring to an elder who could awakened him. They brought Josh to the catatombs of Paris to see Ares, the god of war also known as Mars Utor, an elder who was cursed by the Witch of Endor (who gave Sophie her entire knowledge of the ancient world).

Meanwhile, Sactty was attacked by Dagon, the loyal servant of Machievalli. Dagon ancestors had been destroyed by The Shadow and he had a long life enmity with her. He dragged her down into the maine river. Nicholas, Joan, Sophie and Saint Germain had no clue whether Scatty could survive the attack. They decided to rescue Josh from Dee and his allies. They tracked them down into the Catatomb.

Sophie rescued her brother just after Ares had awakened him. It was the debt Josh had to repay later to Ares. Together with Nicholas, Joan, and Saint Germain, the twins fought the armies of Gargoyles created by Deed and Machievelli. Ares was bound into bone stone by Dee and he swore he would avenge him. The twins and their friends successfully eluded the dark immortals.

Meanwhile, Perenelle who was improsed in Alcatraz had to defeat the Spinx who guarded her. The Spinx preyed on her magical power and aura that left her powerless and defenseless. Her improsenment was used by Dee to defeat Nicholas. As the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter, Perenelle had the ability to communicate with spirits and ghosts. Alcatraz was home to thousands of ghosts and spirits. With the help of de Ayala, a dead Sapnish sailor who ruled the island, she could escape from the Spinx. Her aura slowly returned and she needed to get out the island. Dee had collected monsters and ancient dark entities in the dungeon. He created an army of monsters and Perenelle had to find out what he was up to.

Hearing the failure of Spinx, Dee sent the Goddess of Crow, Morrigan to kill Perenelle. Morrigan was all powerful and there's no way Perenelle could escape. In despair, Perenelle was informed by Ayala that Dee had created an imprisonment spell down below the dungeon. To her surprise, she met Aeronap, an elder in the form of giant spider. Keeping aside their dispute, they worked together to defeat the Goddess of Crow.


In the end of the book, Saint Germain provided all necessary papers for Nicholas and the twins to go to London. Nicholas wanted to bring the twins to King Gilgamesh. He would persuade the King to train the twins in mastering the fourelemental magics, fire, water, earth, and wind to defeat the dark elders and their armies. The journey and battle continue in the third novel The Sorceress.

It's quite an entertaining book and i was in a triller from the beginning and the end of the book. Sadly, I had to find its third book to find out the fate of Nicholas and the twins.

AIR TERJUN SEKAR LANGIT-GRABAG, MAGELANG - 210909

Air terjun sekar langit yang berada di kaki merbabu ini merupakan tempat yang cocok untuk berwisata, airnya yang dingin, dengan udara yang sejuk dan pesona alam yang masih asli menjadikan air terjun ini sebagai tempat bagi para penikmat alam atau pun untuk sekedar berwisata bersama keluarga, kerabat atau pun teman. Sayang, obyek wisata ini belum dikelola dengan sunguh-sungguh oleh Pemda setempat terlihat dari masih minimnya fasilitas dan pemandangan sekitar yang masih terkesan semrawut.

Kicauan burung burung liar diiringi gemuruh air yang jatuh menjadikan suasana tempat ini semakin mempesona dan asri.Air terjun diwilayah grabag ini dapat diakses dengan kendaraan roda dua atau empat, dari arah magelang maupun salatiga. Jalan yang berliku diantara pegunungan dan hutan menjadikan perjalanan menuju tempat ini semakin mempesona. Apabila belum puas dengan pemandangan alam di sini, pengunjung bisa melanjutkan perjalanan wisata ke Kopeng yang hanya berjarak tempuh kira-kira 1/2 jam dari sini.

Mengunjungi air terjun ini merupakan hajatan rutin tahunan pas berkunjung lebaran ke rumah Nenek yang berada di Desa Sejaran, Tempel, Grabag. Dari rumah Nenek, lokasi air terjun ini bisa ditempuh dengan waktu 10 menit menggunakan motor. Ada dua air terjun di lokasi ini. Air terjun sekar langit atas dan air terjun sekar langit bawah. Yang banyak dikunjungi adalah yang di bawah karena pemandangannya yang lebih menarik.

Biasanya aku dan suami berjalan kaki ke air terjun yang atas sambil menikmati hamparan pegunungan dan bukit yang mengelilingi desa nenek. Biasanya pas ke sini lagi musim panas kayak gini sehingga kebanyakan sawah ditanami jagung. Namun ada pula yang menanam sayur kol...sungguh asrik menikmati sejuknya udara dan pemandangan alam yang masih perawan ini setelah lelah penat tinggal di kota besar.

WISATA KE GUNUNG KELUD-27-09-09

Hari ketiga menghabiskan waktu di Kediri, diputuskan untuk berpetualang ke Gunung Kelud. Meskipun kaki masih pegel luar biasa setelah dari Dolo, tetap nekat daripada harus mendekam di rumah mertua dan diinterogasi soal anak, lol.

Jarak tempuh ke Kelud kata suamiku lebih pendek dibanding ke Dolo. Tapi ternyata informasinya tidak akurat, haiyahhhhhhhh... Membutuhkan sejam lebih untuk mencapai titik puncak pemberhentian di Kelud. Jalanan yang harus ditempuh meskipun derajat kelokannya tidak ada yang sedasyat di Dolo, tapi ini lebih mengerikan. Kiri kanan jurang yang ujungnya tidak kelihatan...sempat begidik ngeri, tapi pasrah saja. Di tengah puncak, sempat berpapasan dengan Panther yang tidak kuat menanjan dan hanya puas untuk berhenti di tempat pemberhentian terendah sehingga penumpangnya musti sabar menanti angkutan wisata Kelud yang dioperasikan. Si Pica ternyata tetap tangguh sehingga berhasil menaklukan medan super berat ini.. thanks to the driver... and my loyal beloved Pica, lol. Meluncur pukul 10.00 dan sampai medan sekitar pukul 11.15.

Udara sejuk menyentuh dingin yang berhembus saat berkendara sirna kala kaki mulai menjejakkan gunung ini...puanas luar biasa...kakak ipar bilang lebih enak kalau musim hujan (meskipun resiko longsor lebih tinggi dan medan makin berat karena seringkali berkabut) karena udaranya dingin meskipun siang hari. Untung bawa payung..tidak peduli dibilang norak atau 'aleman', yang penting terik surya tidak langsung menyentuh ubun-ubun, bisa dehidrasi...parahnya kali ini bekal minum kurang alias super minim.

Jalan turun ke anakan Kelud yang baru tidak terlalu jauh...cuma butuh waktu lima menit. Ehm, yang terlihat hanya gumpalan batu dan pasir yang bertumpuk menyerupai gunung diselingi asap putih yang sesekali keluar dari sela-selanya. Tidak ada yang istimewa...lebih indah hamparan lautan hijau yang kini telah menghilang musnah. Untungnya, landscape dan pemadangan sekitar gunung ini luar biasa indahnya. Meskipun panas, tetap semangat.

Setelah jeprat jepret sana sini, perjalanan diteruskan ke gletser panas (wong gletser kok panas, lol) alias sumber air panas yang katanya muncul setelah ledakan tahun 2007 lalu. Lokasinya tidak jauh dari anakan Kelud ini, tapi untuk mencapai lokasi ini harus menuruni anak tangga yang super puanjang melebihi ribuan ular sanca digandeng sambung menyambung...Pengalaman di Dolo terulang lagi. Dengan kaki hampir kram dan air minum habis, kami tetap teruskan perjuangan ini, lol. Setelah 45 menit karena beberapa kali musti tarik nafas dan meregangkan kaki, kami berhasil mencapai sumber air panas ini..indah nian...kelokan air berbuih putih diliputi dengan asap putih yang terus mengepul. Pas menyoba mencelupkan kaki, Masyallah...puanas banget...baru tersentuh dikit langsung terloncat kaget...Mungkin panasnya seperti kuah indomie yang baru matang direbus... Yang lebih menakjubkan, berdampingan dengan sumber air panas ini, etrdapat aliran air yang sedingin air es...kok bisa ya...sungguh maha karya Sang Khalik memang tiada banding...


Sejenak duduk di bawah perdu rindang yang tumbuh di kanan kiri aliran sungai ini sambil memandangi hiruk pikuk pengunjung lainnya, sekalian meluruskan kaki. Nah, pas naik kembali ini yang ngos-ngosan...agar pikiran teralihkan terus merayap naik sambil menghitung jumlah anak tangga...kerongkongan serasa terbakar karena kehausan dan kepala mulai nyut-nyutan. Keluarga kakak ipar dan dua ponakanku untungnya tidak ikutan turun... so it's only me and my husband... lucu kali kalau dingat lagi, berdua berjalan tertaih-tatih layaknya sepasang kaki nini..lol. Total jumlah anak tangga 580.. wow dalam hitungan jam artinya kami telah naik turun anak tangga sebanyak 1160...lebih banyak 3 kali lipat dari anak tangga di G. Bromo.


But the breathtaking landscape and scenery was worth going. They were the perfect creation of the Divine... a master piece that not even Da Vinci could excel ...

BERWISATA KE AIR TERJUN DOLO, KEDIRI - 260909

Liburan lebaran 1430 H kali ini sengaja diajak ke obyek wisata Air Terjun Dolo. Kabupaten Kediri sebenarnya memiliki beberapa air terjun yang cantik namun suami belum sempat sekali pun mengajak berkunjung ke salah satunya hingga akhirnya tahun ini terlaksana. Salah satu air terjun di Kediri adalah Air Terjun Dolo. Tempat wisata ini terletak di dusun Besuki, Desa Jugo, Kecamatan Mojo,Kediri. Jarak tempuh dari Kota Kediri ke arah barat, kurang lebih 25 kilometer yang kami tempuh dengan Si Pica kesayangan kurang lebih sejaman. Meski agak jauh, tapi pemandangan di sepanjang jalan menuju lokasi terbilang sangat indah dengan pemandangan pepohonan gunung aneka jenis. Sayang, lagi musim kemarau sehingga rerumputan banyak yang meranggas... kata kakak ipar, apabila musim hujan, pemandangannya lebih luar biasa. Jalanan menanjak dengan variasi sudut kelokan 45, 60, bahkan ada yang hampir 80 derajat...wah, ngeri pas melewatinya. Untungnya, kakak ipar telah terbiasa dengan medan yang cukup berbahaya ini dan Si Pica tidak rewel.

Tiba di Besuki, sembari melepas lelah pengunjung isa menikmati panorama di Desa Jugo, Mojo,di sekitar menara pemancar relay televisi dan telepon seluler. Disana pengunjung bisa menemukan Air Terjun Irenggolo. Namun, kakak ipar bilang pemadangangan dan air terjunnya biasa saja jadi kita berkendara terus. KAmi melanjutkan perjalanan ke Dolo. Jarak tempuh dari Besuki sekitar 4 kilometer. Sampai di titik pemberhentian, setelah terlebih dahulu menyantap segelas teh hangat, perjalanan dilanjutkan dengan jalan kaki menuju air terjun. Jalan yang kita lewati terbuat dari bebatuan yang desainnya dipadu dengan lingkungan sehingga kesan alami tetap terjaga. Jalanan menuju air terjun terus menanjak turun...ternyata sangat jauh...untung pakai sandal gabus jadi agak tak berasa... kurang lebih kami harus kira-kira 45 menit-an jalan menurun (jarak tempuh agak lama, karena seringkali kami ternegah-engah dan istirahat dulu melepas lelah, kalau tanpa henti mungkin bisa ditempuh selama 1/2 jam). Sepanjang jalan, di kanan kiri pepohonan hutan liar tumbuh subur. Kalau dilihat-lihat kita seperti sedang menyusuri Tembok Cina kali ya...Apalagi di saat-saat tertentu, suara kicau burung terdengar tanpa henti.Meski capek, but it's worth it.

Setelah kurang lebih 45 menit menapaki jalan lambat laun kita akan mendengar gemricik air terjun. Letak kawasan wisata air terjun ini kurang lebih 1.800 meter di atas permukaan laut. Sedang ketinggian air terjunnya sendiri diperkirakan mencapai 125 meter. Begitu mendekati air terjun ini,kita langsung merasakan butiran-butiran air terjun yang sebagian terbang mengikuti angin. Suara gemuruh airnya seperti melengkapi sensasi Air Terjun Dolo. Sayang, debit air di puncak musim kemarau ini sangat kecil sehingga air terjunnya kurang maksimal keindahannya.

Ponakan dan Suami serta ipar asyik bermain air di bawah air terjun, sementara aku mencoba mencari obyek-obyek untuk diabadikan...Paling enak duduk di atas batu besar, mendengar gemericik air ditengahi kicau burung sambil melihat ponakan-ponakan kecilku bermain ria...

Ternyata Kediri memiliki obyek wisata yang lumayan ya. Bagi mereka yang tidak tahan jalan jauh, pasti akan menemukan perjalanan bolak balik ke bawah dan atas ini kurang menyenangkan...karena keesokan harinya kedua kaki ku pegel bukan kepalang...Nah, bagi yang suka foto pemandangan alam liar nan eksotis, tempat ini cukup menarik untuk dikunjungi. Biaya masuk pun relatif super murah dibanding Jakarta atau kampung halamanku, Solo dan sekitarnya... setiap kepala cuma ditarik Rp. 2.000,- Nah murah banget kan. Plus, pedagang di sini tidak main pukul harga, sepiring indomie goreng cuma dihargai 2.000...So, lumayan hemat buat kocek tapi menawarkan keindahan yang luar biasa

LIFE IS A MAZE

Staying at today...doing nothing... I really miss activities I've done during fasting... a kind of energy charging. Then, it stopped...well, it's a common problem for any women. I must not say a problem actually, but a gift from The Creator... a moment of a leave, lol.

Then, I flipped my old phone address book and found one long friend I have not contacted in years. A few click on the buttons, dialing the number.
"Hello? Who's this?" Then started the conversation.
During my absence, there's so many changes took place. It's been three years she lost her husband in an accident, and her only son died one year later. It's so sad to hear this and the most painful is I was not even there to lend her a hand. I must admit that she's a tough woman. We talked a lot and promised we would see each other after Idul Fitri.

The conversation with this friend suddenly brought back the memories of some of my friends. I have some friends who were in serious problem in their marriage, one already divorced about two years ago. I met with one of them recently. It's kind of sad to hear their stories. I remembered when my husband and I took an oath years ago, to share life together in happiness and sadness...to cherish and to love each other till death do us part... it was a sacred moment...the first big leap I've made in my life. We had passed our 4th anniversary. And I know that many problems came on our way during our togetherness... Alhamdulillah, we are still in a family. It's not quite easy to manage the flame alive. We have always to try our best ... so far we are on the same track.

Great gap in character sometimes brought many problems... reminds me of the recent divorce of famous celebrity in my country. It's hard to align two different characters if all were too stubborn or too selfish... a simple humble man will be hard to live with a glamorous, active woman and vice versa ... To survive, I think we need to find a balance either in personality or in knowledge (self-learning)...Even, when you think you know the man/woman you married, you'll be surprised to see him/her in elapsing time. Love is not a constant element...it changes along the way...depends how it is cultivated. No matter how long you've been dating your partner before marriage, it is not a guarantee that the marriage would last forever. And I am kind of a non believer that the longer you date (means the longer you know your partner personality), the greater chance the marriage survive. I believe that we will never know the true about our partner until we married him/her. I think it is the combination of love, luck, understanding,and destiny that would seal our marriage attached in one piece. Just like a business, it takes a great management skills to survive... and the most vital ingredient is our same vision and wisdom based on religious pillars... that's a conclusion I deduct from their stories...

And along the way I pray that my marriage would survive the time... just like my Mom and Dad... They are truly an inspiration...my husband and I still have so much to learn...to become a matured couple...it's not easy but we promise we will never give up ... to come to the final oath of sacred matrimony takes great strength and courage, but to maintain the oath takes greater...

A Shocking Earthquake

Death is just a distant away, how strange it may be yet so true, no one escape his presence, young old man woman rich poor, sooner or later the day will meet the fate, no fortress nor prison wall stop the finality....