JEDDAH, 20 February — Pilgrims from and around Jeddah started flocking to the holy city of Makkah yesterday for the annual Haj that begins today. Families with loads of luggage atop their cars and trucks were seen going along the Ring Road. Huge crowds of pilgrims, men and women of all ages, races and backgrounds, were seen waiting to embark on the holy journey at various points in the city.
Only people with special permits are allowed into Makkah, and security officials were seen turning back scores of expatriates who tried to sneak in without the permits from checkpoints set up on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway.
“I’m going to perform my first Haj,” Muhammad Khilil, a young Sri Lankan restaurant worker, told Arab News. He said it was his dream to perform Haj soon after taking up a job here. Hailing from the outskirts of Colombo, he said: “I came to the Kingdom with a group of six, and all of us are going on the pilgrimage.”
Husein Parouk, a Philippine technician from Mindanao, said: “This is the happiest moment for me. I had told my relatives and friends back home before I left Manila seven months ago that I would perform Haj before I return home during my first vacation.”
An Indonesian driver said he was grateful to his sponsors with whom he had been working for the past 10 years for enabling him to perform Haj for the second time. “They are bearing the entire cost of my pilgrimage,” he said.
A tour around the city showed that young and old pilgrims, who had no transport of their own, waited at various points for public transport to reach Makkah.
The parking space of the Education Ministry Stadium has been one of the main locations for buses transporting pilgrims from elsewhere in the Arab world.
Ibrahim Sagri, Mohammed Eibo and Abdul Ader Mabarithan, all Syrian drivers, said they had brought busloads of pilgrims from Damascus. Pilgrims arrived five days ago and were lodged in hotels or apartments around awaiting preparation of their documents to enter Makkah for the pilgrimage.
Ibrahim, who has brought pilgrims for more than a dozen times, said he and the other drivers would leave for the holy city late tonight or early morning. “This is one trip that takes us two days but we enjoy the most year after year. This gives us utmost satisfaction because we are transporting the guests of God.”
Mohammed, who has brought pilgrims during the five previous seasons, said: “The entire stretch from Damascus to Jeddah is smooth and driving becomes a pleasure. We enjoy it all the more because this also gives us a chance to perform Haj.”
Abdul Adir has driven his bus to Jeddah only thrice before. “I hope to bring pilgrims every year as long as possible,” he remarked.
All of them specially mentioned the excellent relations between their country and the Kingdom. Ibrahim said: “Our strong bonds have additionally contributed to Syrian tour operators regularly transporting Haj and Umrah pilgrims.”
