MAKKAH, 29 January 2004 — The opportunities for business and making money from the wave of pilgrims flooding into Makkah have resulted in a number of both old and new marketing techniques. With some two million of the world’s Muslims coming for Haj, evidence that marketing methods are reaching new levels of sophistication and persuasion is everywhere — scattered on the pavements and plastered on the walls of many of the city’s buildings.

Mixing new world advertising techniques with traditional merchant retailing, the wide range of goods and sellers emphasizes Makkah’s historical place as a home of globalization before the term was even invented. Outside the holy mosque, a large bazaar has sprung up; all kinds of goods, exotic as well as mundane, are displayed on colorful carpets and cloth which cover the ground.

Mustapha 34, from Yemen is paying for his Haj this way. “I begin selling my goods after maghreb (sunset) prayer though the area is busy all day.”

He sells the traditional “oud” perfume as well as Yemeni honey which he claims, and many would agree, is the best in the world. “If you don’t feel good or you feel that you might need some extra nourishment, a couple of teaspoons a day will keep you healthy,” he told Arab News in his best sales patter.

Mustapha’s simple stand is almost lost from sight in the mass of other goods for sale which include Afghan carpets, Islamic art and literature, oriental herbs and spices and some strangely out-of-place surgical masks.

At the other end of the continuum which runs from traditional to modern, Saudi Telecom’s aggressive courtship of the Haj market is startlingly high profile. Billboards, stickers and phone cabins are pushing the Haj Sawa prepaid mobile phone service cards. STC’s advertisement shows a happy pilgrim, strolling leisurely in a typical city street — possibly in Makkah — making a mobile phone call and letting the folks back home know “I’m fine”.

Ahmed Sager, 29, who works at a phone cabin near the holy mosque, says the cards are flying off the shelves. “Pilgrims come in to make international calls and buy the Haj Sawa cards,” he added.

The cards are priced the same as the standard Sawa prepaid mobile cards.

Restaurants are of course booming in Makkah. Some fast food restaurants resemble small football stadiums. One global franchise, however, that is not benefiting from either Haj or Umra pilgrims is the international coffee house chain, Starbucks. The only Starbucks in Makkah is scheduled to close before the start of the Haj. All the stock has been transported to Starbucks branches in Jeddah.

On the other hand, traditional restaurants selling shawarma and falafel sandwiches are thriving. Massoud comes from Jizan at this time of year to help his brother, Mohammed, in his kebab shop. “It gets really busy this time of year. My brother needs all the help he can get and I can earn some extra money.”

The government has its pitch as well. Billboard advertisements designed to get public service announcements to the notice of pilgrims dominate some streets.

Giant advertisements on display all over Makkah encourage both a “Tobacco-Free Haj” and the use of public transport. The Ministry of Health is using the Haj season as an opportunity in its anti-smoking campaign, supported by thousands of leaflets distributed to pilgrims.