Daily Times

• Minimum cost for Hajj soars to $7,000 this year.
• Massive crowds likely to break attendance records.
• Chance to “see Kaaba” worth spending everything.

MAKKAH: Over 2.5 million Muslims are anticipated to go to Makkah, one of Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia, to make the Hajj pilgrimage, which is projected to be the largest in history due to vast crowds breaking attendance records despite exorbitant expenses.

With the minimum cost of Hajj increasing to 26,000 riyals ($7,000) this year, Palestinian pilgrim Abu Anas Abu Rahal’s alternatives for a week-long stay in Makkah were restricted.

Despite selecting the cheapest package available, the 65-year-old struggled to pay the bill, which included the cost of flying to Saudi Arabia and sharing hotel rooms with other pilgrims.

“I was asking for a fourth option, with a farther hotel which could be half cheaper. The prices and the choices that have been given are embarrassing to be honest,” Abu Rahal said, adding that pilgrims last year paid the same price for a package that included flights.

“For the sake of the holy mosque and seeing the Kaaba… everything is worth it, but the economic conditions are really tough,” he added.

Abu Rahal was one of millions of Hajis [pilgrims] scheduled to join the 2023 pilgrimage season in Mecca and Medina this week, battling worldwide inflation and increasing Hajj service charges.

As of Sunday, authorities in the kingdom said that more than 1.6 million people had already arrived for the trip. The conference formally begins on Tuesday.

The Saudi government earns a significant amount of money from worshippers’ lodging, transportation, fees, and gifts during Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for any able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

According to official figures for 2019, or the final year before the epidemic ravaged the global travel sector, the monarchy earned roughly $12 billion per year from the 2.6 million pilgrims who used to visit Mecca and Medina for Hajj, and another 19 million visitors for Umrah.

Umrah is another form of pilgrimage which can be carried out at any time of the year.

Large throngs of men dressed in white and largely black women surrounded the Kaaba at Makkah’s Holy Mosque, as security personnel moved among pilgrims, intently watching the ceremony.

Green barriers were placed outside the mosque to control crowds and prevent stampedes, which have killed hundreds of people in the past.

Many pilgrims said they were happy to take the spiritual journey and buy gifts for their family members despite high prices.

“Even if I had to sell everything to come (to Hajj), I would have done it… I have been trying for three years already,” said Alameer Eid Al-Omar, a 52-year-old pilgrim from Egypt.

Such devotion provides business for the merchants of Mecca.

“The demand for prayer beads is way higher than in the previous years, including before the pandemic,” said shop manager Abdullah Abbas.

“All nationalities buy beads,” he added.