If there’s one thing that I really love about mosques, it’s their being picturesque and elegant. They are unquestionably excellent and sophisticated works of art. 📍Grand Mosque, Cotabato City
🇵🇭MAGUINDANAO ADVENTURE PRIMER🇵🇭
✈️🛳🚌 How to get to Maguindanao:
⏺ Take a plane from Metro Manila to Cotabato City-Awang Airport, Maguindanao (e.g. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific).
⏺ Charter a tricycle that will take you to the mosques.
🏄🏝🚴 Sites to Explore/Activities:
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Masjid or Grand Mosque of Cotabato City
Em Manor Masjid of Cotabato City
Masjid Al-Nasser Abpi or White Mosque of Datu Odin Sinsuat
Masjid Dimaukom or Pink Mosque of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan
📌From Cotabato City, ride a van or bus bound for Isulan or Tacurong and alight at the municipal hall of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan (travel time: 1 – 1.5 hours).
📌Walk a few meters to get to the mosque.
I first visited Maguindanao as part of my solo backpacking trip in July 2016. After my awesome adventure at Asik-Asik Falls, I decided to spend the night in Midsayap before going to Cotabato City the next day. 📍Grand Mosque, Cotabato CityI left my accommodation by 4:00 AM. I walked in the dark to reach the terminal of buses. As I continued walking to the town proper, I heard the sound of an approaching motorcycle. The wide road was devoid of any obstruction and vehicles so I was wondering why the motorcycle was moving closer towards my direction. Good thing I got quick reflexes and I immediately hopped on the innermost portion of the sidewalk (with my super-duper heavy backpack containing my stuff for a week of backpacking) before the motorcycle hit me. I was actually not surprised for what transpired at that very instant. It felt like I knew what was going to happen as the motorcycle was getting nearer. It was intentional after all. I could still hear the laughter of the two guys aboard the vehicle as they continued their way farther. They must have been drunk, I reckoned. Gods how I wished I had a travel buddy with me. A few meters from the bus terminal, I noticed a parked van and a barker shouting and calling out to passengers. It was bound for Cotabato City. The ride only took about less than an hour but it was another one of those unforgettable night rides I had in Mindanao. Boy was I nervous as we traversed the dark road en route to the city. My fright would die down every time I’d be seeing lamp posts along the highway or we would be passing by a developed part of a municipality with lit establishments. Don’t get me wrong. Mindanao is relatively safe (not what mass media depicted throughout the years) but it was just my second time here and traveling alone was kind of on a whole different level. My first visit was an organized travel event with almost ten joiners in our group.I arrived at the city proper by 5:30 AM. The moment I stepped out of the van, I was overwhelmed by the number of tricycle drivers asking me where I was bound for. My Muslim friend who lives in Cotabato City was supposed to accompany me to Grand Mosque that day. I was too early and the city’s Jollibee was still closed. So I asked one of the tricycle drivers to take me to any 24/7 stores. He took me to a burger station where I waited for my friend.Before 6:30 AM, I tried my luck and hailed a tricycle to take me to Jollibee to buy some breakfast. My friend with her brother and a relative was on board their vehicle when they picked me up. It’s been years since my friend and I last met so our trip here at Grand Mosque was full of stories to catch up. Since we were early, the mosque was deserted when we arrived. I strolled around and took photos. It was my very first time to visit a mosque. I was struck in awe with its architecture and design.If you notice in these photos of mine, I am not wearing any Muslim outfit because the stores outside the mosque where I could rent some Muslim attire appropriate for my pictorial were still closed that morning.Afterwards, my companions brought me to the national highway where I would take a van bound for a town in Maguindanao. We exchanged goodbyes and I thanked my friend for the short but fun trip. She warned me though to be extra careful since there was an armed encounter between the military and terrorists the day before and a teenage civilian was killed because she was caught in the crossfire. Before I got inside the van, she reminded me to be wary of my surroundings. “Don’t just entertain questions of strangers once you get there,” she told me. “If they ask you where you’re headed, just tell them that a friend of yours from the town is going to pick you up.” The van continued its way through the roads of the Islamic province.It felt like my heart was pounding against my ribcage when I alighted by the municipal hall of Datu Saudi-Ampatuan. I could already see the Pink Mosque a few meters away from where I was standing. I called for a tricycle and asked the teenage driver if he could accompany me to the mosque. You could actually walk towards the mosque but a friend of mine from the travel community who visited this place a few weeks before my trip told me to hire a tricycle and ask the driver if he could go with me even if it’s just within walking distance. Besides, I needed someone who would take my photo.So how long did I stay in Maguindanao? Five minutes. Just five minutes. The tricycle took me back to the bus stop after my super quick peek of the mosque. I didn’t have to wait for so long when a bus arrived. I boarded right away. Boy was I so nervous. “Nervous” is actually an understatement. I let out a relieved sigh by the time the bus revved its engine going to my next destination that day. It really was an unforgettable experience. Definitely one for the books.
⏰⏳ SAMPLE ITINERARY:
DAY 1
8:00 AM ETA Awang Airport
10:00 AM ETA White Mosque
12:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM ETA Em Manor Masjid
3:00 PM ETA Grand Mosque
6:00 PM Check-in
7:00 PM Dinner
DAY 2
8:00 AM ETD for Datu Saudi-Ampatuan
10:00 AM ETA Pink Mosque
12:00 PM Travel back to Cotabato City
💰💶 ESTIMATED BUDGET (for a solo traveler): Php 2,500 – Php 3,500 (exclusive of airfare)
***Expenses may vary depending on the type of accommodation you will avail and personal consumption of food and other necessities. If traveling alone, you will solely shoulder the transfer rates via tricycle.
Three years passed and I’d been itching to revisit the province of Maguindanao. After all, I was not able to take ample number of photos to feature the mosques in my blog. It was a trip of a lifetime for 11 days with my former workmate. Our entry point was Maguindanao and we would be exiting via Tacloban Airport. 📍Grand Mosque, Cotabato CityWe were supposed to leave Manila early in the morning but our flight was delayed for two hours. We were already inside the aircraft but there seemed to be a problem with the plumbing system of the plane. There were even times when the pilot had to switch off the engine and it felt as though we were pigs being toasted inside the vessel. It was freakin’ hot. At some point, one of the flight attendants declared that we would be transferring to another aircraft. Then after a gazillion years of waiting, they announced that the issue had been taken care of. Boy was I so disappointed considering our itinerary was ruined big time. 📍White Mosque, Datu Odin SinsuatAs soon as we landed at Awang Airport, we quickly made our way to the terminal of tricycles then hired one to take us to the mosques. Unfortunately, I forgot my tripod at the airport so we had to go back to retrieve it. Talk about being unlucky! 📍Grand Mosque, Cotabato CityWe proceeded to our first stop, White Mosque. Good thing this was just near the airport so we didn’t have to travel that far.Our young tricycle driver, who is also a Muslim and lives here actually didn’t have any idea where this mosque is. I showed him a photo I found from one of the blogs online. We even had to make a U-turn as we already passed by the alley going to White Mosque.We parked outside the premises of the mosque compound. I was wearing a traditional rounded Muslim cap which I bought from Tawi-Tawi and my malong (Muslim tube skirt) was wrapped around me for our pictorial. An old man sitting by the corner near the gate approached us and asked if I wanted to borrow his abaya cloak. Who was I to refuse such generosity?The white facade and the stunning Islamic design of this structure was indeed worth visiting.The beauty of the mosque against the nimbus clouds as our backdrop was also remarkable in our photos.My apologies for getting the same angle as we didn’t get inside the mosque.Once we were satisfied with our photos, we bid goodbye to White Mosque and thanked the old guy for lending me his robe. (Mis)fortune was really on our side because it started to drizzle once we were back at the national highway. It’s a blessing, I thought to myself. The province was just welcoming us.
📜✏ Tips/Reminders:
📌Cotabato City is geographically part of the province of Maguindanao while Awang Airport is part of the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat (DOS).
📌DOS is just a stone’s throw away from Cotabato City via tricycle.
📌Please dress appropriately when entering mosques. Shorts and sleeveless tops are not allowed.
📌Expect rain during monsoon season (June-February).
📌Always observe the LNT principles.
☎️ Contact:
📌Tricycle Driver in Cotabato City and Datu Odin Sinsuat: Alex (09069539470) – you can hire him to take you to the mosques. He can also pick you up at the airport.
We agreed to have our brunch first before continuing our journey. We ate at a restaurant similar to Mang Inasal which also serves grilled chicken. 📍Grand Mosque, Cotabato CityNext on our list was none other than the largest mosque in the Philippines. It was quite a long drive aboard our tricycle to reach this grandiose building.The clouds started giving way to the sun. Thank the gods it was only a quick thunderstorm. Boy was I sleepy as we traveled to this mosque. We weren’t able to get a decent amount of sleep considering our flight was originally scheduled at dawn.It was almost noon when we reached Grand Mosque. The place was full of people since it was time for the prayer of our Muslim brothers and sisters. We took a breather and rested for a bit as we waited at the store across the mosque. They got available Muslim outfits which we could rent so while waiting, we used the opportunity to choose the costumes to our liking.Once the mosque was finally deserted (not totally, as there were still quite a handful of adults and kids inside), my friend and I decided to finally enter the premises in our Muslim attire.It’s been almost three years since my first visit here but it was still as magnificent as I remembered. Some parts may be needing repairs because it was erected in 2011 but its domes and minarets still looked proudly impressive.I felt so ecstatic as we continued exploring the place. My friend and I took our time leisurely capturing loads of photos. It may be my second time already but I still shot tons of pictures for my blog.Walking in our outfits under the hot weather proved to be a struggle. After all, we are not Muslims who are used to wearing long robes like this.We roamed around the compound and the rest of the people already left so we had the mosque to ourselves for quite a while. I only came across a group of visitors once but I didn’t see them again because this place is huge for picture-taking.Another Muslim friend of mine from Cotabato City suggested to visit Grand Mosque in the afternoon since the sunset would produce much more dramatic photos. I wish we could afford to allot more time for this but it’s way impossible considering we got a jam-packed itinerary. There’s always a next time anyway.We had one last photo at this spot to capture the imposing grandeur of this Islamic structure before leaving its premises. We returned our abaya robes and thanked the owners of the store.We capped off our Maguindanao trip at this small mosque inside the compound of Em Manor Hotel in Cotabato City.There’s really not much to see here at Em Manor Masjid because it’s relatively small. But it still is a nice addition to the list of mosques which you may visit when you are in Maguindanao.Seeing People’s Palace and Pink Mosque in Datu Saudi-Ampatuan was originally part of the itinerary but due to our flight being delayed, we were pressed for time so we had to make adjustments. Our tricycle driver took us to the terminal where we rode a van en route to Koronadal City, hoping to catch the last trip of van bound for Lake Sebu.I could still remember the Grab driver that morning when I was on my way to Manila International Airport. He must have noticed my huge hiking backpack that I put inside the car’s trunk. He asked me where I was going and I proudly answered Mindanao. He curiously asked if I’m not afraid at all. I guess the stigma attached to this place will never disappear. Somehow, I am actually happy because I get to keep Mindanao for myself. Most of its natural wonders are safe from being destroyed by irresponsible tourism since people in general are scared to visit Mindanao, which has been known as the Land of Promise.
***For other destinations in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), you may visit this link.
