JEDDAH, 7 January 2006 — Come Haj and the parking area near the Ministry of Education Stadium, off Madinah Road, becomes a scene of hectic activity with the drivers of parked buses.
Some 300 buses, all from Syria, which were parked here for the last four days, started making their journey to Makkah with pilgrims arriving by Saudi Arabian Airlines at the South Terminal from late last evening.
“We drove down empty and will go back empty, our contracted job being to transport pilgrims from the airport to Mina,” Riyad Zain, 36-year-old driver, told Arab News.
“This is not a new experience. We’ve been coming here to transport Haj pilgrims for many years,” said Mustafa Saksook, 30.
“The drive was pleasant thanks to the excellent roads all along and we enjoyed the scenic beauty throughout the journey,” said Hassan Al-Qadi, 30, another driver. “This has been my first visit to the city and admirably the best I’ve seen so far.”
Each of the 300 new Hyundai buses is equipped to transport 50 pilgrims. The buses arrived in a convoy after a six-day drive.
“We’re here following a contract between the Syrian companies and Abu Yasin, who owns a local enterprise,” said Al-Qadi.
Sanaa Kadi, Abdu Falooh, Adi Falyah and Hatim Falyah, who were among the other drivers, said they enjoyed spending four days here. “We used the wash-rooms of the nearby mosques where we offered our regular prayers and spent the rest of the time in the upkeep of our vehicles,” Hatim Falyah said.
Lockers for Jamrat Mulled
The committee supervising the program to send pilgrims in groups to the Jamrat for the stoning ritual has proposed the establishment of experimental lockers near the Jamrat Bridge in order to discourage pilgrims from carrying their baggage while going to the Jamrat for the rite.
Fadel Yahya, of the King Fahd Haj Research Institute, said a technical panel headed by Maj. Gen. Marwan Al-Subhi, commander of special forces, has been set to study the problem. “We have identified the places to set up the lockers,” he added.
Windy Weather Forecast
Makkah and other holy sites will have unstable weather condition during the next five days, according to Abdul Latif Al-Oyuni, director of forecast at the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection. He said there was a possibility of strong winds carrying dust during the period, causing poor visibility. Rains are likely on the first day of Haj, he added. He forecast maximum temperature in the holy sites today and tomorrow at 32-34C (89-91F).
Hasina Arrives for Haj
Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has arrived for performing Haj. Saudi officials and Abdul Hamid, labor consul at the Consulate General of Jeddah, received Hasina, who is also president of the country’s main opposition Awami League. Her delegation includes close family members and Zafarullah Chowdhury of the Awami League.
Embassy: 147,000 Haj Visas to India
Saudi missions in India issued 147,000 visas to Indian pilgrims intending to perform Haj this year, a statement issued by the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi said. It said Ambassador Saleh Al-Ghamdi was closely following up the issuance of visas and transportation of pilgrims to the Kingdom. The last Haj flight, which also carried the Indian Haj delegation led by K. Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha (Upper House), left New Delhi on Jan. 5, it added.
