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Day 1 - Monday 23rd July 2007 Girls' diary: After what seemed to be the longest flight ever, yet a very exciting one, we arrived at the airport. We got off the plane with a huge sigh of relief, which was more like sigh of excitement! WE HAD FINALLY REACHED!!
Our journey of a lifetime had just begun. We didn't know what we were expecting. All we really had with us was the hope that we were going to have fun and by the friends we made we knew there was going to be no doubt about that.
We prayed at the airport, exchanged our currencies and boarded the bus. On the bus, "amne badai ne chari gayi thi!" All the girls were on one bus and we recited munajaat and laughed our heads off at very minute things. We were tired, we were exhausted and we were just having fun. This I would say was the beginning of "THE GIRLS MASTI!"
We picked the Africa group from another airport and headed towards Qum. All of us were just astounded by the beauty of the roads. "It's hard to tell whether Tehran is modern or an old place" said one of the girls when we saw ruins of one place, farms of another and beautiful tall buildings as we got closer to our destination.
The next shock we got was when we arrived at the HUMONGOUS Jamiah az Zahra (no exaggerations.. it was HUGE!). There were fountains and trees everywhere. The beautiful sceneries just made your heart happy :)
We also went for the opening ceremony in the evening and got our notepads from there. Then we went to the most beautiful place in Qum. The Haram of the sister of the Eight Imam (AS). It just felt as if we were home. Tears just flowed out of our eyes as we entered the gates. It felt as if we were returning home. We felt a connection; a spiritual connection. As the tears flowed out our burdens felt a lot lighter. It was the most beautiful thing ever.
After the Haram we went home, had dinner, attended a brief session with the lady of the Jamiah and then lights were off
This was the first day... we are exhausted, tired yet very happy. Tomorrow is our first day of classes and also a visit to Jamkaran
by Sajeda Canani
Boys' diary: It was a busy afternoon at Heathrow airport on Sunday 23rd July for 41 campers from Europe and North America who were anxiously awaiting their upcoming trip to Iran. After a challenging mass check-in, the organisers, campers and their relatives calmed down a little, and began saying their good-byes. Some of the parents could be heard telling the mentors, "Please take care of my son." Needless to say, they are in good hands Insha'allah.
Flight IR 710 departed Heathrow for Mehrabad airport at 5:30 pm London time. It was an exciting flight, there was lots of movement of passengers in the plane after the seat belt sign was turned off. And after and excellent dinner, probably the best plane food I've had, passengers started lining up for the two-people Salaat cubicle.
In another continent, about 20 students were flying Emirates to Tehran for the same camp. These campers were from Kenya, Tanzania, and the U.A.E.
It was hot on arrival in Tehran, and the campers had already started buying ice cold soft drinks, shakes, and were drinking water to keep themselves cool. It was about 27 degrees Celsius and it was the middle of the night. We were wondering what the temperature would be at the middle of the day; lucky we had an air conditioned bus.
The trip to Qum was uneventful. The campers were tired and most of them slept through the journey. But one could not help thinking of the route that Bibi Fatima Masuma (AS) and Imam Ridha took about 1250 years ago, as we drove along the rough desert-like terrain from Tehran to Qum.
Room allocations were pre-decided, and of course, there was always the groups of friends who insisted on being together. However, after it was explained to them that one of the purpose of this camp was to meet people from other parts of the world, this idea was well taken. The campers got to know their roommates as they fell asleep in the early hours of the morning after being overcome with jet lag.
The accomodation is nice and we have a mentor in each room which is really good - it gives the mentors and the participants a chance to get to know each other on a personal level and breaks down barriers! The group is really good ... the participants are enthusiastic and fun to be with.
A briefing was organised for the boys at 3:30 where the rules and regulations were revisited again. Policies were set on leaving the campus, on laundry and other matters that the campers were curious about. The issue of the food, was at the top of the menu in some of the discussions, especially after the campers had a serious challenge with the "Chelo Kebab"
at lunch. Rest assured, they got chicken and chips for dinner.
5:00pm was the official opening ceremony that was graced with high ranking personalities such as the Head of the Islamic Center for Religious Studies (the campus where the boys are saying), the Head of Jamiatu-Zahra (campus where the girls are staying) and Shaykh Nadir Jaffer, the Manager of the WF Qum Office. This gave a more formal start and welcome to the camp.
The highlight of the day was the trip to the Haram of Bibi Fatima Masuma Qum (AS). The campers were eager to go and pay their respects to this great lady. The first sight of the dome and its minarets were greeted with a loud Nare Salawat. After this heart cooling experience of Ziyarat we all went back to the campus for dinner and and early night. Needless to say, the jet lag hadn't worn out and the lights were out well before the official 11:00 pm
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