foto: Instagram/@hanungbramantyo
Zaskia Adya Mecca and her family just spent their vacation in Europe at the end of 2024. After exploring Portugal, they continued their journey to Rome, Italy, where they visited various iconic locations that they had never been to before.
Suddenly, the desire to visit the Vatican just arose. Coincidentally, it was not far from where they were staying.
" I bought a ticket to Rome 3 days before I left, when I was tidying up my Airbnb I realized 'hey, it's December 24th! That means there will be a ceremony at the Vatican tonight', While I'm here, let's see what it's like there! It's only 10 minutes from where we're staying! " he wrote on Instagram on Friday (3/1).
Even though she felt nervous, especially because Zaskia was wearing a hijab, the reality on the ground made her feel calmer.
" Finally I went, HB and Syb & Kala too.. at first I was nervous 'wearing a hijab, joining the crowd on their holiday in the Vatican too, what should I do..' but when we got there, there were lots of tourists wearing hijabs from Asia, Arabia and other continents, " said Zaskia.
To avoid misunderstandings, Zaskia explained their purpose to the Vatican. " Yes, I just want to know what the atmosphere is like at the center. I really like studying culture, traditions and other things to broaden my horizons, it won't necessarily happen again if we arrive at the Vatican on a holiday like now, " explained this mother of five children.
After 1.5 hours of mingling in the crowd, chatting with several visitors, enjoying the atmosphere, and participating in the live streaming on the big screen in front of the Vatican to see the situation inside, they finally decided to return to their accommodation.
" There were some people who said 'wait another 30 minutes... then a bishop will come out to give a blessing' but because that wasn't what we were looking for and our hands were already frozen, we immediately looked for a taxi, " said Zaskia, who is known for the soap opera Para Pencari Tuhan .
At the end of her statement, Zaskia regretted the conflicting news written by a number of media outlets about her arrival at the Vatican.
" But it's okay, bad news, slander and things like this are commonplace for us... because we understand that when things like this happen, it's not us who lose, Allah's reckoning will be fair in the afterlife. The joy of being a Muslim is not having to bother with being justified in the eyes of humans, " concluded Zaskia.
(brl/red)
