Multicolored umbrellas provide the ultimate shade to pilgrims

They came in all shapes, sizes and colors. The multicolored umbrellas were a source of relief and protection for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, especially the elderly, for whom the blistering sun was too much to bear.
“I don’t know where this umbrella came from,” said Mustafa Abdul Wadi, a Nigerian pilgrim. “Somebody handed it over to me at my camp. I was rather reluctant to take it, not really knowing its utility.”
Wadi realized its importance soon after the ferocious sun started beating down on him while he was on the way to performing the stoning ritual yesterday. “I am praying for that good person who gave me this Mobily umbrella,” he said, pointing at the bright blue umbrella.
Shahzada Munawwar Hasan, from Peshawar, was carrying an umbrella that was given to him by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). “I never thought I would use this one. In Pakistan, we use umbrellas only during the rainy season.
I never imagined the sun would be this harsh here in Mina and Arafat. This umbrella has proved to be a Godsend,” he told Arab News.
Palestinian Fareed Shehata and his wife Rania were clinging to the umbrella that came from the Saudi Telecom Co.
“But for this umbrella, we wouldn’t have survived this heat,” said Shehata. “What has added to our discomfiture is that we are without hair. And the sunrays seem particularly harsh. We will keep this umbrella for the rest of our lives. It is our unforgettable Haj souvenir.”
Sajid Nawab, from New Delhi, India, was carrying the regular Indian-made black umbrella. “I got this from India itself. My brother, who works in Riyadh, had warned me about the high temperatures at Haj. He was right. This umbrella was extremely helpful,” he said.