Hundreds of thousands, burning with the love of visiting the blessed lands, flock to the Kaaba and the tomb of our Prophet (PBUH) after 3 years of longing.
The longing is over. After the limited number of pilgrims to the Kaaba, which was closed for Hajj and Umrah prayers for 2 years due to the pandemic, this year, there is an explosion of Umrah visits. In the Kaaba, where only 850 thousand people were able to become pilgrims due to the ban and some restrictions imposed on people over 65 in July, the number of people who visit Umrah has exceeded 1 million per day. The most crowded visitors come from Uzbekistan, Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia. Due to the pandemic, the plastic barriers placed around the Kaaba during the pilgrimage program in July were removed. Thus, the visitors put their faces to the Baytullah, which is considered the house of Allah Almighty, and pray with tears. However, due to the renovation works started 15 years ago in the Kaaba, it is possible to enter and exit through several doors. Those who are not ihram are not taken into the metaf area (ground). In the upper floors circumambulation is not possible properly due to closures due to construction. Umrah pilgrims who go to different miqat places like Tamim, Curane, Hudaybiye, Arafat and Taif road every day prefer to perform the circumambulation on the ground floor. Meanwhile, ladies are free to enter the ground floor, the metaf area.
“WE HAVE A LOT OF VISITORS FROM TURKEY”
In Medina-el-Munevvera, entrances to the Garden of Eden (Ravda) of our Prophet (PBUH) can still be made with an appointment system. Due to the scarcity of hotels, it is sometimes difficult to find a hotel in Medina, where it is possible to stay in Umrah programs for as little as 3 days. Many travel agencies from Turkey are making Umrah programs. The prices of the 10, 14, 21 and 28-day programs vary between 1,300 and 2,000 dollars, depending on the comfort of the hotels and their distance from the Harem. Mehmet Başdaş, the tour manager in Mecca, pointed out that the closure of visits due to the pandemic for 2 years has increased the longing, and said, “When there are missing, longing, staying away, all together, there is an explosion of demand. They are flocking. We have many visitors from Turkey. Those coming from Turkistan geography, especially Uzbekistan, make up the majority in the blessed lands. Tourism companies have programs for every budget. We also serve our Turkish pilgrims in Mecca.”