JEDDAH, 25 February — The city is fully geared to welcome pilgrims returning after the Haj, as the celebrations marking the three-day Eid Al-Adha wound down yesterday.
A number of Jeddah residents, some of them with families, performed Haj. Many residents said their relatives and friends who had gone for the Haj had come back.
“My in-laws are just back from the pilgrimage and after a while will proceed to Madinah to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque,” said Pakistani draftsman Mohammed Chaudhri, a long time resident of the city.
Local residents once again started thronging supermarkets and groceries to replenish their food stocks as many of them anticipate guests returning from the pilgrimage. “After a couple of days of lull, we’re back in full swing,” Abdul Rahman, a counter salesman at a leading supermarket on Sitteen Street, said.
“It was a unique experience for me,” a young Indonesian pilgrim said on his return. “This was my first Haj and it’s a dream come true for me,” said Ibrahim Parouk of Jakarta who works as a driver with a local family. “What astounds me is there was not a single untoward incident in the sea of humanity in seamless white,” said Muhammad Moideen, a supermarket worker hailing from the southern Indian state of Kerala. He said this was his first Haj although he has been in the Kingdom for over 10 years.
An Indian pilgrim said he found the entire pilgrimage well managed. “I must mention the way our Haj mission managed the whole thing. They sent us in groups for the stoning ritual. There was no confusion or overcrowding,” said the pilgrim from Lucknow, who works in Riyadh for over 10 years. Hotels and apartment owners are fully geared to welcome the pilgrim groups returning to the city after the Haj.
“We’ve had a number of Haj groups from Far Eastern countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, and certain Middle East countries including Egypt. We’re well prepared for their return. Some of them will go to Madinah and others will go back to their countries,” Hady Kholeif, director of business development at Le Jeddah Meridien said.
The Haj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport reopens today for the return flights of foreign pilgrims.
Various airlines engaged in the transport of pilgrims are also in full preparation to organize the second phase of their operation. “Our flights start taking back pilgrims from tomorrow,” a spokesman for Garuda Indonesia said. Indonesians formed the largest contingent of pilgrims this time, followed by Pakistanis and Indians.
An Indian Haj official said Saudi Arabian Airlines and Air-India would begin return flights for the pilgrims tomorrow and the operation would continue until March 29.
