JEDDAH, 20 January 2005 — Pilgrims continued to arrive yesterday at King Abdul Aziz International Airport here before moving on to Makkah to catch up with the Haj rituals being performed by fellow pilgrims from the world over.

“I’ve specially come to the pilgrimage to pray for the more than 100,000 Indonesian pilgrims who died in last month’s tsunami,” Saleh Sabilillah, a teacher from Jakarta, said upon his arrival yesterday at the airport.

Talking to other Indonesian pilgrims arriving at the airport showed that the tragedy weighed heavily on them as they geared up for the spiritual journey.

“The tsunami tragedy has devastated southern Asia, but the hardest hit has been my country — the world’s most populous Muslim nation with 220 million people. Yet, I’m sure all of the more than 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims expected to come will perform the annual pilgrimage,” he added.

Indonesian pilgrims were surprised by the condolences offered to them as their flights arrived. As soon as they landed, they found a relatively quiet spot at the airport to pray for the near and dear lost in the tragedy. Most of them had their eyes welled with tears.

“I’ve lost my brother in the tsunami, and I’m here to perform Haj and pray for him and also for the souls of all those who perished,” said Abdul Rahman Qonom, a young Jakarta businessman. “I pray to God to give the survivors of this tragedy courage to overcome their grief.”

Indonesian women pilgrims were seen walking together, many arm in arm and wearing headscarves. One of them said they were from Aceh, the region worst hit by tsunami.

Similar were the expressions from a few Sri Lankans who arrived yesterday.

“We know we’re late but we want to reach the holy city and join our countrymen and others,” said Zohair Sultan, a middle-aged man from eastern Sri Lanka. “I had no plan of coming this time, but I made the decision at the last moment because I thought the annual pilgrimage would be the best time to pray for the thousands of Sri Lankans killed in the tsunami disaster.”

Malik Mahmood, an Indian working in a leather factory near Madras, wondered whether he would be allowed to enter the holy city, as he was already late. “I’ve come for Haj especially to pray for the thousands of Indians killed by the tsunami, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala,” he said.

Meanwhile, Eid preparations are in full swing. Families rushed to various supermarkets and wayside stores to make their last minute purchases for the celebration.

“Our celebration this time has a significance, as we’ll be offering prayers for all those killed in the tsunami,” said Nausher Alam, a Pakistani textile shop attendant.

Throughout Tuesday and yesterday, all roads led to the holy city, as families and other pilgrims were seen driving along the Makkah Road. As a result, most of Jeddah’s main arteries looked deserted. Traffic, however, picked up toward the evening, with most of the residents heading toward the Corniche to spend their evening there.

A handful of pilgrims in Jeddah were still looking for transport for Makkah and Arafat even after afternoon prayer.

On a tour from the Saudia terminal to the SAPTCO bus station in downtown Jeddah, Arab News came across nearly a dozen pilgrims — Saudis and expatriates — making their way to Makkah. At least two managed to get private taxis to go directly to Arafat.

After nearly an hour’s wait at the Saudia terminal, two Saudis in ihram were spotted getting into an airport taxi. “We are late, we are in a hurry,” is all that they said to a barrage of questions, as the driver eased the vehicle out from the curb.

Some ten minutes later, two more were seen getting into a private van parked at the airport parking lot. All they said was that they were Saudis from Najran and were headed to Arafat. Asked why they were late, they said, “We were busy.”

Amin-ul-Haq, a Bangladeshi working with Jeddah Municipality, was in such a hurry that he literally jumped into the nearest private taxi as soon as he got down from the local taxi, agreeing to pay SR50 to be taken to Makkah. “I was on duty till yesterday, so I could not go. My father has come to perform Haj and I will find a way to go to Arafat, and hopefully locate him, and perform Haj together,” he said.