Looking for the tomb of a Hassani Sheikh in Kebumen

On to the 12th day of Jawa island trip.

Saturday 12th May 2012, after spending the night at a local's place in Kebumen we where brought to a certain Muslim cemetery.

Our host and his wife wanted to show us the tomb of the major saint of Kebumen, a person named Sheikh Abdul Qahfi Al-Hassani, a religious master descended from Saidina Hassan, the eldest grandchild of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

However he himself is not sure which one is the tomb.

There were no signboards to show things clearly and thus we have to go around looking.

They brought us till the other end of the cemetery. There lies two prominent tomb buildings.

Checking this out first...

Nope. Can't tell.

Then we checked out this one...

1934? Don't look like it as the tomb we're looking belong to someone who came here hundreds of years ago.

These tombs looked ancient enough to fit the bill. But later we came across a local who showed that the first tomb we came across is the one we're looking for, the tomb seen in the first and second picture of this article.

Tasikmalaya town

Continued from Early morning look at Tasikmalaya train station.

From the station I felt like walking to town centre.

The town looked quiet maybe because the day was still early.

I went on walking inhaling the fresh air with serenity.

Soon I could see the great mosque of Tasikmalaya, an important landmark which shows I have arrived at the town centre.

Early morning look at Tasikmalaya train station

Back again to the Jawa island round trip of 1-14 May.

Early Friday morning, 11th May 2012 I was staring at these tracks...

The previous night me and family bunked at a nearby restaurant after being invited by the owner to rest there.

Then we have just returned from a tiring visit to Pamijahan, some 3 hours away. Look at the article The sacred cave called Goa Safawardi.

From Pamijahan we headed to this station thinking we could get a train to our next destination, a place called Banyumas quite far to the east.

As it turned out there is no direct train to Banyumas. And we don't even know where is the closest station.

Oh. This station lies at the town of Tasikmalaya. After this let's have a look at the town...

Bernam river near the north-south main trunk road

Continued from Klang river from the bridge to the North Port.

A week later we went to the town of Tanjung Malim which lies at the state of Perak near the Selangor border. Then we went to Hulu Bernam which lies close but within Selangor.

There we went to meet the father of a friend. He brought us to this river, the Bernam river which is the natural border between the states of Perak and Selangor. Here's a look upriver.

We were standing on the Selangor side. Ahead lies the state of Perak...

A look downriver. Seen in the background is the bridge at the north-south trunk road. Further behind, less than 1 km away is another bridge which leads directly to the town of Tanjung Malim. Look at the old article Recent views of Tanjung Malim and around.

Klang river from the bridge to the North Port

Continued from Klang river from Bagan Hailam.

As it is, Bagai Hailam is still situated within the bounds of Port Klang. From there we took the road heading to Klang's North Port and soon it took us across the Klang river. Here is a look of the bridge after we have crossed the river.  Its traffic is one way and heading to the north.

A look upriver shows another bridge for traffic to the south...

Now let's look downriver.

What you see ahead is part of Port Klang. The Klang river mouth lies about 2.6 km from here. For the record this is the 979th article in this blogspot...

Klang river from Bagan Hailam

Continued from Views from jetty to Pulau Ketam.

Next we went to the small jetty of an area called Bagan Hailam which is about 200 metres upriver from the Klang river mouth.

A look to the left where lies the upriver part. The view is however blocked by a longer jetty.

A look ahead. The Klang river is about 250 metres wide here.

A look towards the river mouth. Ahead lies the island called Pulau Indah. To the left is the international jetty.

Views from jetty to Pulau Ketam

Continued from The new look of the tomb of a wife of Sultan Abdul Samad.

From Jugra we went to Port Klang where lies the jetty to Pulau Ketam (literarily the crab island).

I wanted to have a look at the waters surrounding it.

 For the record the jetty lies just 200 metres outside the Klang river mouth.

A look to the right shows the much longer international jetty for ferries going in and out of Malaysia. Behind the jetty is the Klang river mouth.

A look ahead shows the open waters of a straits (I don't know the name)...

A look to the left. The straits separate mainland Klang from the island called Pulau Indah.

A look further left. The waters here is practically a shipping area. That's why the area around is called Port Klang.

The new look of the tomb of a wife of Sultan Abdul Samad

From the island of Jawa let's return for a while to Malaysia. On to the state of Selangor...

Two weeks ago me and family visited the tomb of the 4th ruler of Selangor, Sultan Abdul Samad in Jugra, Kuala Langat. Some 200 metres out of its compound lies a solitary tomb said to belong to one of his wives.

We first noticed this tomb and visited it end of 2011. Then the area looked like it has just been cleared... otherwise we just bypassed its ground as before that the surrounding was covered by bushes. After clearing the tomb began to stood out. Now a wall has been erected to further signify the position of the person laid to rest...

Before I was merely guessing whose tomb is this while some said it could belong to a wife of Sultan Abdul Samad. After this visit someone confirmed it indeed housed the remains of the ruler's consort. The person laid to rest is said to be Che Fatimah, daugther of an imam (mosque prayer leader) Haji Abdul Ghani. While her name Che Fatimah and father's name Abdul Ghani sounded like that of commoners, I was told they are actually descended from Arung Palakka a very prominent Bugis warrior, ruler of the kingdom of Bone in Sulawesi end of 17th century AD.

The sacred cave called Goa Safawardi

Continued from A look at the Suryalaya pesantren from its hill peak.

From Suryalaya we went to a place called Pamijahan some 3 hours journey away.

The place is famous for the existence of the tomb of a major 17th century saint. At times people tend to come in droves like making pilgrimage. Thus locals (maybe even outsiders) take advantage by setting up businesses all along the way and even further.

You see, Pamijahan is set up on a hill side with a river or two plying through it.

Generally one has to climb to reach its main destinations, the tomb and one other special place...

But there are also two or three parts where one has to walk down following the contour of hill.

There. Here lies the turning to the said tomb, that of a saint named Abdul Muhyi better known as Sheikh Abdul Muhyi Pamijahan.

Still further on straight lies another object of curiosity which could be said of equal eminence.

And for this, one has to walk much much further up the hill.

Go on and on until the row of shops end.

After that the scenery opens up with plenty of farmland green until one arrives at this juncture...

Welcome to the place called Goa Safawardi.

It is a cave system which legends say has underground pathways which could reach Baghdad and Mecca thousand of miles north-east!

And it is said to be the place where a number of olden personalities including Sheikh Muhyi had meditated until they reached saintly status.