It's been a treacherous adventure so far in my ZamBaSulTa Travel series but I'd lie if I said that the trip to Panampangan Island in Tawi-tawi made me rethink why I'm doing this in the first place, instead, it cemented my theory that this will be the best solo backpacking trip ever.
The $120 boat fee that we split includes three destinations, namely: Panampangan Island which we visited a few days ago, Simunul Island, and Sangay Siapo Island. Today's adventure has a deep historical background and I'm ecstatic to share this with all of you!
Welcome to Simunul Island!
Simunul Island is not the last of the islands under the Province of Tawi-Tawi. In fact, I still dream of going back to Tawi-Tawi to check out Sibutu and Sitangkai islands. But I still have to save for visiting these islands are costlier than visiting the three destinations I've mentioned above.
The only way to reach Simumul Island is to ride a boat with or without an outrigger.
I believe there are bigger, regular passenger boats plying here to and from Tawi-Tawi proper. But of course, we still had to rent a boat. These passenger boats might have irregular schedules for all I know.
When we docked at Simumul's port, the very first thing that caught my attention was the gigantic and commanding welcome arch. I've seen countless welcome arches around the Philippines but their design was giving and unforgettable. I instantly knew that I was entering a Muslim community with its massive open Quran that stood atop the arch.
The mosque we were visiting is nestled in this island's intimate communities. Hence, we had to walk around their humble town to reach the mosque.
If you ask me how will I rate the island, the answer is: mediocre. Simunul Island looked like a mediocre island when compared to the other islands in the Philippines. No white, powdery beaches and whatnot. But if you haven't seen floating and inhabited cottages interlinked by wooden pathways that are also erected above water, you'd probably grow to love the uniqueness of this place.
Well, the afternoon walk around the island told me there's nothing extraordinary about this island. Until I learned that this small island houses the first-ever mosque in the Philippines.
Before we could reach our destination, we needed to pass through houses erected above the shallow waters in Simunul. There were a number of them; you could easily spot them even from afar. It was a relaxing afternoon until we spotted piles of garbage trapped in the water. It's sad to think that they don't have an idea how to properly manage their waste to avoid pollution and even contamination. It was like they all decided to make certain parts of the ocean as dumpsites.
The main attraction
To be honest, it was just a short walk but with the sun's crazy heat above us, it felt like walking inside an oven. When we reached Sheik Karim al Makhdum Mosque commonly known as Sheik Makhdum Mosque, there was no one there. Our boatmen led us to a room where we could use some change of clothes; we couldn't go inside the mosque without wearing their traditional Muslim clothing. We then met the caretaker of the mosque who showed us around.
Before reaching the main hall of the mosque, we passed by the burial site of Sheik Makhdum, the Arabian Missionary who brought Islam to the Philippines in 1380.
The exterior of the mosque was painted all white with details in black and gold. We then moved inside the mosque's main hall. I've only heard of what a mosque looks like from the movies, magazines, and news I've read and watched so when we entered the mosque it's a one of a lifetime experience. Don't worry if you aren't a Muslim, I'm not a Muslim either but they let me in. The only prerequisite is to wear any Muslim traditional wear which they can lend to you for any donation amount.
Here's the main hall of the mosque. It's worth noting that this is not the original edifice built in 1380 but they managed to save a part of the original building. Two wooden pillars were kept safe by the mosque's caretakers; they even built glass railings around them so that no one could touch and possibly endanger an important artifact of the Muslim faith in the Philippines.
Unlike Catholic churches, this mosque was almost bare inside. Except for the colorful tiles that resembled a color wheel if you look at it from above and the massive chandelier that hung in the middle of the halls's dome, the rest was flat and unremarkable. I don't know if this is the standard when designing mosques; I'm just surprised by how simple the design was.
There's a mini 2nd floor in the main hall. We went up and saw a few Qurans. I don't read Arabic but I indulged myself in checking them out. They looked and felt really sturdy; they were heavy! There were also carpets on the second floor that as per the caretaker are used during prayer time.
After checking all the areas we were allowed to go to, we bid farewell to the kind and thoughtful caretakers and gave a little donation to them. We headed back to the port and hopped back to our boat. We had one more island to visit before this day came to an end.
Simunul is a very simple island but it left me with good memories; starring at those kids who were mindlessly playing at the port, I thought life there was pure and peaceful. And my heart bursts with contentment to have partaken in this genuine bliss.
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