MINA, 2 January 2007 — Street vendors have dug a new niche in the Haj-related marketplace by trekking out to nearby mountains to collect stones then selling them to pilgrims heading to the Jamrat.
“I would rather pay a riyal for a bag of pebbles than walk a few kilometers to collect stones,” said Saudi pilgrim Salman Asiri.
The tent city of Mina was long ago picked clean of stones to throw at the three walls representing the devil, an act that itself re-enacts Abraham’s journey through the area when he answered the taunts of three manifestations of Satan by throwing stones at him.
In fact, Mina has been wholly paved over either with asphalt or, in some of the fancier tents for the rich, by shiny marble flagstones. The only way to get stones is to venture to the mountains surrounding Mina, or buy them from people who do the same.
“It’s a good way to make money,” said Mohammed Abdul Rahman, a Bangladeshi worker carrying ten bags of pebbles. “I’m providing a service by helping pilgrims with their stone-throwing.”
Abdul Rahman said he sells a bag of 25 stones for one riyal. He said that so far he’s earned about SR100.
“That’s one riyal for the long walk up the mountain,” he said. “There’s more where these came from,” he added with a smile.
“These guys saved me the trouble of gathering the rocks,” said Abu Mansour, another Saudi pilgrim as he bought one bag from the pebbles salesman.
“Besides, it’s cheap. I would have willingly paid more to save myself the trouble of wondering where I’m going to find some pebbles. Look around and all you see is people. This place was picked clean of pebbles long ago.”
Awad Al-Quthami, a 52-year-old Makkawi, said it’s common to see people asking other pilgrims for their extra stones after they were done with the ritual.
“This year, that’s not possible because of the one-way traffic that was established,” he said, referring to a new public safety strategy on the newly built (but incomplete) Jamrat Bridge that prevents pilgrims from returning the way they came in.
Al-Quthami said that these street vendors are a plus for the pilgrims. “They’ve performed a big service this year,” he said.
