"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands."



"Children aren't coloring books. You don't get to fill them with your favorite colors."


"The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it."

Two days in Phnom Penh, it was not enough to fully experience the rhythm of nature's beauty and a prosperous culture of the city's people. As a result, this visit should be done again for a longer time. Now, let the photos tell the stories.


In the end of the visit, I had a little time to visit the place of the Cambodia Water Festival's tragedy which happened in late 2010. Being explained by a local how the tragedy was happening and how the people were mourning, I could feel something mysterious behind the tragedy. Until today, some of the victims' relatives deeply keep reminiscing the tragedy.


Our transportation was mainly tuk-tuk(three-wheeler motorcycle). The choice was due to the cheaper cost compared to a cab and for the size is small; time would be less taken for a trip particularly during peak hours.


The journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was by bus. It took approximately six hours in time. What was fascinating, the journey went through villages and paddy fields; many dramatic landscapes can be seen along the way; in particular when the sun almost goes down leave the day.


What I can say, Siem Reap is more attractive than Phnom Penh in many ways. The most important is, it has Angkor Wat, believed as the most beautiful temple on the planet. Undeniably, I was amazed by its beauty and the magic architecture. The plan to get there in the early morning and capturing the beautiful views in the morning has ruined as everyone woke up late due to some reasons. Despite of a short time we have before going back to Phnom Penh, the plan was proceeded. For this reason, not much photographs have been taken at the temple.




During the end of the visit, we had a little shopping at the Russian Market, one of the main attractions in Phnom Penh. The various local products with an affordable price made the end more joyful and everyone could go back with a big smile. And for the very first time, I went to an airport by riding a tuk-tuk; a thousand thanks to the driver for the pleasant ride. I wish to meet you again.

Well, India was the toughest place for me after all. A quote "Always expect the unexpected" is aptly good for anyone who wants to go there. I went to some places in southern and northern India and I found that the major problems in most areas are cleanliness and poverty. With the approximately 1.2 billion populations, not everyone is equally fortunate. More than 300 million Indians are still prey to hunger, illiteracy and disease, and 51 per cent of India's children are still undernourished.





I spent most of the time in the southern part of India and I liked the people more; they are more decent and polite. I wished to explore more about places and people in the northern side but I could not make it for some reasons. Perhaps next time I should spend more time in northern India, I believe it does have many interesting things to be discovered and photographed.



In many ways the last part of my trip was filled with frustration. Frustration that I had so little time. I was having some problems with the visa and the result was I could not travel back on the day it was scheduled. That was not the frustration I meant. I just frustrated with the attitude of some Indians particularly governmental people. The procedures to get the exit permission were intricate and horrible; it was not what I expected from a country which has one of the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in the world and an array of recent achievements in technology, industry and entrepreneurship. One of the main causes to this problem is surely corruption; lower quality services is one of the impacts of corruption.

Positively thinking, this problem somehow will be solved soon as now many Indians are trying to take these things seriously. They want to see the fruits of development reach the poorest of the poor, and wipe the tears from the eyes of every man, woman and child, as Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt. If this thing is successfully realized, the effects are not only good for Indians, but also the world. Indeed, a better India holds the key to a better world.



Lastly, I wish happy fasting to all Muslims in the world. May this Ramadhan be the best Ramadhan ever in our lifetime and all our good deeds will be blessed by Allah. Hasbunallah wani'mal wakil.

O my soul! Know that yesterday has left you, and as for tomorrow, you have nothing to prove that it will be yours. In which case, know that your true life is the present day. So throw at least one of its hours into a mosque or prayer-mat, a coffer for the hereafter like a reserve fund, set up for the true future. And know that for you and for everyone each new day is the door to a new world. If you do not perform the prayers, your world that day will depart as dark and wretched, and will testify against you in the World of Similitudes. For everyone, each day, has a private world out of this world, and its nature is dependent on each person's heart and actions. Like a splendid palace reflected in a mirror takes on the colour of the mirror, if it is black, it appears as black, and if it is red, as red. Also it takes on the qualities of the mirror; if the mirror is smooth, it shows the palace to be beautiful, and if it is not, it shows it to be ugly. Like it shows the most delicate things to be coarse, you alter the shape of your own world with your heart, mind, actions, and wishes. You may make it testify either for you or against you. If you perform the five daily prayers, and through them you are turned towards that world's Glorious Maker, all of a sudden your world, which looks to you, is lit up. Quite simply as though the prayers are au electric lamp and your intention to perform them touches the switch, they disperse that world's darkness and show the changes and movements within the confused wretchedness of worldly chaos to be a wise and purposeful order and a meaningful writing of Divine power. They scatter one light of the light-filled verse,


over your heart, and your world on that day is illuminated through the reflection of that light. And it will cause it to testify in your favour through its luminosity.

By Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Revival with the Prayer.

" If the debtor is in a difficulty, give him time till it is easier for him to repay but if you waive the debt as an act of charity, it would be better for you if you understand it. "


" Allah alone can increase or decrease wealth, and to Him you all shall return. "


" I always felt that I had anxiety of survival in terms of livelihood even when I was making plenty of money. "



" Spend in the cause of Allah and do not cast yourselves into destruction by your own hands. Do good things. Allah loves those who do good things. "


" This world is charming to the disbelievers. They mock at those who believe. Those who fear Allah will rank above them on the Day of Resurrection: Allah gives sustenance without measure to whom He wants. "

If you have a chance to experience this, don't miss it! it happens only 'once'; though it will happen again, it won't be exactly the same! Here I would like to share some photographs of the view in the sky from my camera, just ordinary views that attracted my eyes and my camera's eye.

In flight KU 551 from Kuwait to Damascus. The aircraft passed through a 'mystery' desert in Syria.

" Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. "

In flight KU 415 from Kuwait to Kuala Lumpur.

In flight CZ 350 from Kuala Lumpur to Guangzhou. The aircraft was entering the clouds while the sun was setting. This really caught my eyes.

" It is He who made the earth a floor for you and the sky a canopy, and sends down rain from the sky for the growth of fruits for your sustenance. Therefore, do not knowingly set up rivals to Allah. "

In flight AK 5292 from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu. It was a cloudy day.

" It’s better to look at the sky than live there. "

In flight MH 1397 from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur. It can be seen green hills and forests in the mini view.

Broga Hill, located in Selangor, offers a great landscape view.

It is the best to hike up during an early morning because mist rising from the ground from the warmth of the sun envelop the landscape in a carpet of white, providing a surreal atmosphere. You can reach the highest peak between 30 to 45 minutes; depend on how fit you are.

Three peaks in total, each one ascends above the other through a clear path fringed by the tall grass at each side.

Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace was constructed between the 15th and 19th centuries during the reign of Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror and was used as the management center of the Ottoman Empire and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Now it has been used as a museum. Visiting the museum is a must for many reasons, for instance, some of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. belongings like His swords and beards are placed here.


Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque has a special place among the various Ottoman buildings constructed in the Sultanahmet Square. This building was constructed by Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, which is in the true meaning of the world, a masterpiece of architecture is the culmination of two centuries, Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church development. Sedefkar Mehmet Aga took classical Ottoman architecture and the Hagia Sophia into consideration in designing and construction of the Blue Mosque and created an interior space which is more spacious and well lighted and airy than the others. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. In addition to these blue tiles, wood works enriched with inlays of mother-of-pearl, stonemasonry and handwritten calligraphies contribute to the beauty of the building.


Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia after serving 916 years as a church, 481 years as a mosque now maintains its historical function as a museum since 1935 and is the most important monument of the architectural history. Byzantine historians Theophanes, Nikepheros and Leon, the Grammar teacher of Byzantine wrote that construction of Hagia Sophia started during the reign of Constantinius I (324-337) and completed in 360 during the reign of Constantinius II. Its first name was Megali Eklesia (The Great Church) and it was changed to Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) after the 5th century.


Kapali Carsi (Grand Bazaar)

The history of the Grand Bazaar, which is in the historical peninsula between Nuruosmaniye and Beyazit, goes back as far as old ages. In Ottoman period Mehmet the Conqueror (1451-1481) built two covered bazaar side by side for the first time, and in time, top of other open bazaars that settled around were closed and a complex market was formed by the roads between them. Grand Bazaar has three main sections. Interior Covered Bazaar forms the core. It is also known as Cevahir Covered Bazaar and Old Covered Bazaar. Sandal Covered Bazaar is the second main section of the Grand Bazaar.


Taksim Square

Taksim Square is surrounded by the Istiklal Avenue, Siraselviler Avenue, Tarlabasi Boulevard, Ayaspasa-Gumusuyu Avenue, Mete Avenue and Cumhuriyet Avenue. The first building in Classical Ottoman style at this area of Istanbul after the Frank and Levantine settlement was a water tank. Water was brought from dense forests on the northern part of the city by water pipes during the reign of Sultan Mahmut in 1732-1733. Taksim Water Tank was built to store waters in a stone tank here. Therefore it gave its name to the square (the word ‘taksim’ means ‘share, distribution’).

A good news is my life here has not been so isolated since two of my college mates came here couple days ago. I brought them to some interesting places in Damascus, the capital city of Syria and I realized that this country is a wonderful place to visit because of its plenty historical sites and tombs of Allah’s prophet. The city is also a place that Rasulullah s.a.w. used to trade goods a long time ago, known as Syam in Arabic term.

One of the historical places is Umayyad Mosque. Located in Damascus city, the mosque was a church before it was conquered by Caliph Khalid al-Walid from the infidels and then was made as a mosque. It can be seen in the mosque some patterns which are usually decorated at church’s walls. Beside this mosque there is the tomb of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, one of the Muslim war champions. Moreover, there are also The Tomb of the head Prophet Yahya a.s. who was decapitated by the infidels and the first baitulmal(bank) of Muslims inside the mosque. Not far from the mosque, there is another historical place where the first murder happened on this earth(Maqam Arba'in). The story was Qabil, a son of Prophet Adam a.s. killed his brother Habil because of envy towards him. About 70 kilometres from Damascus there is a village where we can find structures like theatre and public bathroom which were constructed during the emperor of Roman. The structures are very interesting, wonderful and strong. Also, there are the tombs of Prophet Ayyub a.s. and Imam Nawawai r.a. nearby the village.

As I said earlier, Syria is a great place to visit especially for Muslims. We as Muslims need to know the histories in Muslim calendar, about the prophets, the warriors, the leaders and everything that can be imitated or make as an instruction. If compared, the Muslim histories are far greater than any other history in this world. Believe it or not, explore it by yourself!

the White Minaretwonderful!what is this?the theatrethe view of Damascus city from Maqam Arba'in