MAKKAH: The shops near the Grand Mosque aren’t nearly as quiet as the ones in the rest of the city during this Eid break. The reason?
Pilgrims who came for Umrah during Ramadan are getting in some last-minute shopping before heading home, and local merchants are more than happy to accommodate them despite the holiday break.
All visitors interviewed by Arab News stressed that the products they are buying from Makkah has a spiritual value for them and their families.
Egyptian Said Abu Al-Hassan said that he spent SR15 on a prayer mat and beads. Though they’re not of high quality or value (or made in Makkah, for that matter) his parents wanted something from the city of the Grand Mosque. “People boast about obtaining such things since whoever has them can show he knows somebody who went to the holy land,” he said.
Mahmoud from Morocco said that his mother and siblings ask for different gifts.
“It’s time to leave, and I am buying these souvenirs that mean a lot to us,” he said.
Jamim Shalabi was busy buying home products that he wants to distribute amongst his relatives and friends. Because of Saudi Arabia’s relatively low import tariffs, many consumer goods are cheaper here than they are in other countries with higher import taxes.
Egyptian Midhat Ibrahim opted for something more culturally authentic: a bisht, the black outer cloak worn over the Saudi thobe, typically at regal gatherings. Ibrahim bought this distinctly Saudi garment for his father.
“I got it for SR50, but its (spiritual) value to us is in thousands,” he said. “Everyone here from all over the world is concerned about obtaining some souvenirs.”
Last night the rush appeared to be dying down except in the restaurants. Cab drivers were charging rates that were back to normal from the seasonal price hike.
Brokers on prowl
As the Ramadan Umrah season winds down, men offering the service of housing and hiding pilgrims who want to overstay their Umrah visas to perform Haj. The fee for this illegal service is between SR1,500 to SR2,000.
Lutfi Sahnoun, a Moroccan, said that while shopping on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr he was stopped by an Arab national who introduced himself as Haaj Ibrahim. He was offering Umrah pilgrims shelter, bread and water until Haj, which begins at the end of November.
Sahnoun said that Ibrahim claimed that he knows some officials in Makkah who would cooperate with him.
Yusuf Al-Said, an Egyptian, said that a broker from his country followed him out of the Grand Mosque and asked for SR2,000 in return for a safe place to stay in until the Haj season.
Col. Aid Allugmani, the head of the Passport Department in Makkah, said that many visitors fall victims to these brokers who fool them by assuring that they can provide safe shelters and that they have connections with authorities.
“The Passport Department makes every effort to monitor these brokers and bust them,” said Allugmani, adding that anyone who shelters overstayers is breaking the law and risks steep penalties that include fines and prison time.
