MAKKAH: Pilgrims and visitors can document their trips to Haj through a special group that offers to photograph and record the experience.
Ali Hussein Sayrafi, a Saudi man in his 30s who is leading the team of Saudi and non-Saudi professional photographers in this project, said that the idea of this service came to him after he noticed that many pilgrims showed great interest in taking photographs of themselves near the Grand Mosque in Makkah and other religious sites.
"The shooting of video enables the pilgrims to clearly hear the background sound of people praying, which is an added value better than taking video on a cell phone," said Sayrafi.
Sayrafi said he documents the Haj trip in Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah and Makkah. He also takes videos of his customers visiting religious sites in Makkah, such as Jabal Al-Nur and Hira Cave as well as their visits to shopping places in Makkah. He said he also offers his service to shoot video of his customers in Madinah and in the Prophet's Mosque.
Sayrafi said he charges between SR3,000 and SR10,000 for this service.
“Most of the pilgrims who wanted to shoot videos in Makkah and Madinah are pilgrims from Arab, America and European countries,” he said. “Pilgrims from Iran, Egypt, Gulf countries, Pakistan and Malaysia are also interested in this service.”
Ahmad Reedi, a 45-year-old Egyptian professional photographer, said that documenting Haj is a modern service provided that interests many pilgrims who want to document day by day their lifetime journey.
“There are pilgrims who want to watch their trip after their return home or send part of it to their loved ones by computer,” he said. "I am sure that this business will flourish in the future Haj seasons."
He also predicted that a number of professional photographers will join this business. This business is likely to flourish in the future given that fact that its yields a very good income without any big investment.
“In one Haj season, a professional photographer may earn up to SR30,000," Reedi added.
Jamal Al-Shaweesh, a 40-year-old Palestinian photographer from the same team, who lives in the Kingdom, said that video recording starts with the arrival of pilgrims.
“I have visited many hotels in Makkah where pilgrims are staying and have discussed the idea with them. They liked it, especially those pilgrims staying in five-star hotels," he said.
He said many pilgrims wanted to start documenting their trip in Madinah. He said that he charges half of the money upfront and pilgrims also pay for his travel expenses. He said his video includes postproduction work that includes sub-titles in the video footage.
