26/04/2024
Part 2
The next morning, I was awken by a sister who came to our room saying it was time for suhur.
Going down the stairs, I found some sisters waiting. There was a table just outside the kitchen where breakfast was being served. Little by little more sisters joined us. There was soup, bread, jams, salad, omelette, and tea. But no water!
Asking about it, I've been told that water was not drinkable in Cyprus unless boiled first. So I decided to buy my own bottles of water from the supermarket during the day.
After suhur, came the Azan. Mashallah!! I never heard the Azan outside a mosque. But to hear it on the street it was amazing, so beautiful. I followed some sisters to the dergha. And that's when I saw Sheikh Nazim's house for the first time!! The same house I used to see in pictures.
It was like being in a dream. And that's what I asked my driver the night before, "is this real, or am I dreaming?"
Early April, the tree by Sheikh Nazim's house was starting blooming. But everywhere I went there was the heavenly smell of orange blossoms as orange trees are everywhere.
After Fajr at the mosque, I went back to the guesthouse, waiting for the day to start.
The guesthouse has wifi, but the code is not written anywhere. The only downside I faced since my arrival was the lack of communication with my family. None of the sisters I asked knew the WiFi password. And the lady in charge only came at midday. And she wasn't very keen on sharing the password right away. Finally I found one of the sisters who had the password and got connected. You can imagine how worried my family was.
Around 8am, I decided to go out and explore Lefke . It was a sunny warm day. I wanted to see the Natura Cafe. I've been told that we could see a part of Lefke from above. It was a nice walk up the hill.
I wrote a post on how to get there a few weeks ago, they make fresh orange juice, jams, soups and coffee.
Lefke is a small village, there isn't too much traffic, even though there isn't always a sidewalk, it is safe to walk on the road. After reaching the cafe, I went back to the dergha, and then to the guesthouse.
At the guesthouse, the toilets and showers are outside There is only cold water in the tap, but in the showers there is hot water. In total there are 3 toilets and 2 showers.
Certainly it's not comfortable in winter. I was there in spring, the nights are cold. Washing with cold water in the early morning and late at night, it is really uncomfortable. At least there was a washing machine. I didn't need to wash my clothes by hand.
By Zuhr, I was back at the dergha, after prayer, I wanted to meet Mawlana, I haven't seen him since 2022. Mawlana meets the mureeds, in a small room at the entrance of the mens' side. That room was the original dergha I've been told. Everything else was built afterwards by Sheikh Nazim.
So men or women wait by that room, to be called in. When my turn arrived, I got in and found Mawlana on a chair.
Just being there with him, made me so happy!! I had a few minutes with him, made a selfie and left Mureeds usually meet the Mashaikhs on arrival and departure, or just on departure.
After meeting him, I wanted to meet Sheikh Mehmet Nazim, I remember having seen that beautiful library full of books where he met people. I asked and was told to wait. Then I got in... oh my God!! the library! And Sheikh Mehmet Nazim was sitting there just like in the pictures! It was like meeting an old friend.
In the afternoon, I met a few friends, made some selfies...visited the shop of sister Ruckiya, just in front of the dergha. The day has gone by very quickly. By the time of iftar, the ladies were already preparing food at the dergha. Everyone ate there. They prepared the table for Mawlana's family and their guests.
Each had a specific task. Some were to peal the vegetables, some were to squeeze the fruits, some for cooking... Everyone was helping.
It always started with a dua and then soup. The lady in charge of the area I used to sit every night was a sister Noa (not sure how that is spelled) she was a very kind lady. I liked her very much, she was very friendly, and I really liked helping her when she needed help.
So every night there was soup and a main dish. The food was lovely, so was the environment I was in. Lots of ladies from around the world gathered at the same table for iftar. Mashallah. After dinner, came the Maghrib prayer and a little later Isha and tarawih.
I must admit that I never did the whole 20 rakat tarawih prayer by myself during ramadan, but there in Lefke at the dergha, I enjoyed the tarawih! For some reason, doing it with other mureeds, with Mawlana, with Sheikh Bahauddin when he was there, it gave me a lot of motivation!!
After the tarawih, I returned to the guesthouse, the sky was clear, we could see various constellations in the night's sky, the moon. I was thinking on how life was so different from the rush and craziness of the western world.
Day 3 coming next Insha'ALLAH
