Pilgrims visit historic Uhud battlefield

While in Madinah, pilgrims like to embark on a tour of of the many historic sites in the region. The location of the Battle of Uhud, one of the most famous battles in the Islamic history, is one such ancient site.
On Tuesday morning, more than 10 buses brought visitors to the Shuhada Uhud (Martyrs of Uhud) area that overlooks the historic battlefield.
Pilgrims of different nationalities and ages toured the area that houses the martyrs’ graves.
“It’s the first time that I am visiting this historical site that witnessed the Muslims’ sacrifices for the sake of spreading the religion,” said Shshid Muhammad Akhtar from Pakistan, one of the the visitors who stood on the Rumat Mountain (arrow shooters’ mountain) with his camera.
Another Pakistani pilgrim, Muhammad Waqar, said he read and heard a lot about the historic battle but it is the first time for him to stand on the ‘shooters’ mountain.” Under the supervision of the chairman of the Madinah Haj Committee and the Madinah Gov. Prince Abdulaziz bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, all relevant authorities and private bodies are performing their duties in serving pilgrims arriving in the Prophet’s City around the clock. So far 145,484 pilgrims have arrived in Madinah through Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport and through land. About 3,598 left the city.
Most pilgrims in Madinah currently are Malaysians who number 28,765; while there are 28,155 Turkish pilgrims and 25,681 Indian pilgrims, according to the Madina Haj Committee’s secretary’s report on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan International Airlines has started running direct flights to Madinah from several Pakistani cities. Director of the company’s office in Madinah, Muhammad Shahid Hussien, said so far six flights were running and they will continue operation until Oct. 19.