Photos from Rosslyn Chapel

I was surprised that Rosslyn Chapel was actually quite near Heriot Watt. So a friend, Roxandra, and I decided to go and visit one Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we got there after the Church service which Roxy wanted to attend. Anyway, here are some pictures we took.


Roxy and I in front of the ruins of Rosslyn Castle. I think this is the bridge where they shot the Da Vinci's Code where Tom Hank's character reunited with the girl.

The two of us exploring the ruins.

Notice the celtic pattern on the cross? Cool.

A glimpse of the actual Rosslyn Chapel from the outside. It is under renovation and we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. But I really admired the architecture and sculptures.

Breathtaking view from the Chapel

Okay, we couldn't resist the temptations and were plucking and eating the wild blackberries that grew around the chapel.

Eid Mubarak

It's already Eid here in Edinburgh, and my family is celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr tomorrow. I woke up this morning with the intention to go for Eid prayers but found myself ill with cough and cold. Probably the rain I've been exposed to over the last few days. I miss my family at this time because, right now, I would be doing the takbir with my Dad and waking up to the savory pastries and sweets. I miss my nephew's and brother's antics. I guess the illness also contribute to a certain extend. Luckily, there're the classes to keep up with.

That's it for now. Eid Mubarak (Happy Eid/Selamat Hari Raya), everyone. I ask for forgiveness for any wrong/sin I've committed against my family and friends.

Addendum: I want to thank my aunt for giving me the serondeng, my mom for sending me the lontong and my dad who footed the bill...my friends who came for my impromptu Eid celebration praised the simple combination.

Enjoying being a student

Budgets, tutorials, long, boring lectures, and cramped spaces...all part of the package of a student. And I'm loving it!

Spent the day today at University of Edinburgh for our stochastic processes and simulation lectures. Dry, boring theorems but as I sat there listening and trying to grasp the concepts, I think I know why I fell "in love." There is a certain beauty in the mathematics behind the stochastic processes that I've not been able to appreciate before this.

Anyway, hope that this will continue and I can hopefully do well for the whole course.

Book review: Archeron

Sizzling! What can I say? Sherrilyn Kenyon combined all the elements I love in this book: mythology, supernatural, romance, and adventure. Archeron is the latest in her Dark Hunters series and probably the best. It covers his early life in Greece and Atlantis, which was only hinted at in earlier books, and the present day events. However, you don't really need to read the earlier stories in order to enjoy this one.

I'm not sure how authentic are her Atlantean fantasy - probably the speculation that it is in the Aegian sea is true. As for the pantheon of Gods in Atlantis, I'm really not sure but I think she definitely took some creative licensing there. Anyway, good leisure reading.

Photos from Heriot Watt

Given that I was up so early (hoping to sustain this habit), I took the time to venture out and these are but some of the things I found...Heriot Watt really got some magical places which I didn't manage to capture. The smell of pine, flowers, combined with the chirping of birds, chatter of squirrels, barking of dogs in the distance, remind me of the enchanted forest written by Enid Blyton. I even saw this ever so gigantic tree reaching to the sky that could have housed Moonface and the folks.

Ah, such industrious fellows, aren't they, the spider and bees?

I was charmed by this lone toadstool on the pathway. Against all odds, it managed to grow there.

Are these bluebells? The bees seemed to love them.

Wind swept moor? Not quite but it does bring that to mind.

Ah, finally the manicured lawn I was expecting.

A rather charming little brook.


Finally, the sun is out.




I wonder if you can eat these berries? Probably not, but they are interesting.

The lake near Caddon Hall where I live.

Just in front of Caddon Hall is this bridge linking to the Student Union.

Photos of Edinburgh 1

Went for a city tour with the Chaplaincy - was raining the whole way but managed to get this picture of one of the beaches in Edinburgh. They say you can walk to the Island in the middle if the tide is low enough.


With the rain and gray sky, this picture of Arthur's Seat in the distance look dull. But I think the scene would have looked quite spectacular if it were sunny.



Went into the city on Sunday 14/09 and was charmed by the sight of the castle in the distance.



And of the holyrood park in the other corner.

First weekend in Edinburgh

Would that all the weekends are just as sunny. :D This morning, I woke up and found the blue sky I am so familiar with. What a rare treat since I've barely seen the sun in the week I've been here. Of course, Heriot Watt's campus is such a beautiful place (not so much of its architecture) with lakes, gardens, and magical forests. Couldn't resist going out and exploring the place through my viewfinder. I'm not that good of a photographer but hopefully it will give just some impressions of my week in Edinburgh. I'll post it after this.

I've had an interesting week. The accomodation office mistook me for a guy and assigned me to a guys' only flat. That took me about 4 days to sort out. By then, my course started and I've been busy ever since. My classmates are great; quite an international crowd with the Greeks being the dominant group. Of course, (though I don't know for sure) I'm the oldest in the class. But that's a good way of staying young. :D

Anyway, enjoyed the classes so far but it'll be a crazy year with almost 25 contact hours per week. Just hope I get to relax over the weekends as I am doing today.

Islamic Finance Part 2 - credit/debt-driven economy

Merrill Lynch, Lehman, AIG, HBOS? What's next? This article is a good read on one of the underlying factors causing the failures of these organizations. The main problem with the credit crunch is that it is driven by debt, debt-securities and derivatives/instruments. That is exactly the problem that perplexes me the most.

In my life, the one rule to do with finance that I follow is a wisdom that my father passed down very early to all his children, i.e. "Live your life free from debt." It is such that I dread using the credit card and makes sure that I can pay my bills on time - never borrow on credit. I know of several of my friends who live by this maxim too. One of them even bought her car in cash!

As I grew up, I realize that the wisdom was an actual wisdom that Islam promotes for its financial sector. Coupled with its prohibition on interest rates/usury, Muslims are discouraged to spend with what they do not have. That means, in financial terms, the practice of borrowing from the bank to buy equities/other financial instruments are frowned at. This is because of the interest rates of the bank for one and second, you do not have the underlying asset to pay off the debt in the case that the prices of these instruments fall, as we see it doing right now.

Of course, this does not extend to things like financing your business or car/home loans. The way Islamic finance deal with these matters is through either a shared-partnership schemes in the case of the business or in which they retain ownership until such a time you have fully paid the price of the car/home. Of course, this is from what little I've read. The actual process is slightly more complicated but basically the foundation is not debt-driven. Allah knows best...

In Edinburgh

Finally, I made it to Edinburgh. I've been here for more than 24 hours and what an adventure it is already.

My flight was delay for more than an hour at the wee hours of Saturday morning so I only got in to Heathrow at 7.30 am. Luckily my connecting flight to Edinburgh was not till 11 am. So I whiled away my time by reading Archeron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Wow! This is her best book yet. Ok, getting back to the trip, got in to Ediburgh airport at 1 pm (again we were delayed by air traffic). Took a taxi to my hall but realized I had to go to the main reception to get the keys. Sigh, I had to drag all my luggages up the hill and staircases to reception before getting the keys and settling in.

Alhamdulillah, I met this kind lady from Libya and she then showed me the prayer place and directed me to get some crockery from the Chaplaincy. Lucky! Now I've just to get a knife, spetula/ladle, and cutting board. Then, I found out that I'm roomed with four guys! They probably assigned me to the guys' flat instead of girls' flat. Now, I've got to sort this out but not till Tuesday as Monday is their holiday. However, my flatmates are really good (well the three I've met); Edwin from Nigeria, Vincent from France, and Yang from China. So the only awkward thing is the bathroom/toilet arrangements.

Anyway, this morning, managed to chat with my family. Then as I was walking to the reception area, I met this brother named Alami who was very generous. Finishing his PhD, he gave me some stationary, helped me print out the prayer timetable and even gave me directions to various places. On his recommendations, I went out to the city today to scout around for the food places. Found two halal butcher shops near the Central Mosque. Tomorrow, I might go down to Asda to do some more shopping. Alhamdulillah, Allah has helped me a lot. My du'a for the kind people who helped me.

Weather is cold, even though it is still summer here. So far, it has not rained for the two days I've been here. I shudder to think what it's going to be like once winter sets in. Have to get my winter clothings settle soon.

Well, it's nearly time for the break fast. Signing off.

Legacy - by Mediachantek

A video about Ramadhan by Mediachantek on youtube. Perspective of a young man about his journey of the various Ramadhans...

Ramadhan Mubarak

Ramadhan Mubarak to all Muslims. It's the 8th night of Ramadhan and to me, the happiest. Tonight, my whole family was home to have iftar (break fast) together and (with the exception of my mom who had to entertain my nephew) prayed Maghrib as a family. This is going to be the last family prayer for a while for me as I will be leaving on Friday and I doubt everyone will be obliging enough to free their schedule for another family enmass prayer during the weekdays leading to Friday.

Further, this is the first Ramadhan that War War joined our family officially. So, not only my nephew is excited by the large gathering...I was too. Insya Allah, there will be more such gatherings in the years to come.