JEDDAH, 10 December 2006 — A number of Saudi youths have established the first official Haj (pilgrimage) website (www.hamlat.com). The new Arabic-English site aims at facilitating haj bookings in addition to keeping pilgrims constantly updated concerning the Ministry of Haj’s regulations, health requirements and religious information about the Haj, said Ahmad Al-Amer, one of the site’s developers.
Al-Amer said that the idea was born last Ramadan when he and his friends began contacting sponsors and collecting information about the authorized pilgrimage operators. Their idea was highly welcomed by everyone, including the Ministry of Haj, which promised support.
He explained that the website would help people from both inside and outside the country to locate pilgrimage operators according to their level of services, price and availability. “Our goal is to make bookings through the website possible as soon as the haj operators upgrade their IT sections,” Al-Amer said.
He added that the site included ready-to-print copies of pilgrimage permits and other necessary applications required in order to perform Haj. The website offers the services for free, he said.
There are about 250 Haj operating companies in the Kingdom and all are linked to the website, he said, adding that only authorized Haj operators are listed.
He said that they have had a great response to the website from the public. “We have advertised in some newspapers and after one day, we received more than 150 hits,” he said.
Al-Amer noted that they would be advertising the website by SMS, in the print media and on the Internet. “We strongly believe in nationalizing the technology and we are proud that every one who has worked on this website is a Saudi national,” he added.
