Waiting Lounge at Haj Terminal.. a file Image.

It was a fortunate day for me and my families, we after a gap of three years were blessed with an invitation to the House of Allah the Kabba in Holy City of Mecca Al Mukarram in Worlds Richest Oil Reserve Nation economically most stable and country to day.

We entered cozy and excellent international Rajiv Gandhi Airport.  Like always any flight going out of any destination boarding to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the pilgrims visiting holy cities of Makah and Medina.

In flight were many pilgrims who were in Ahram a two peace white unstitched, cloth one for the waist and other to cover the upper body keeping the head uncovered. That begins engages each one of them to feel of a beginning of spiritual journey given a rare feel and happiness by very thought of looking at Kaaba tul Allah the House of Allah.

Air India, not very popular with its timing had on dot departure. The Huge Jumbo machine welcoming on board, with its smiling young and middle aged crew had the warmth and efficient service.

The captain called for the crew members to take their stations a very smooth take off enters blue clean skies of city of minarets Hyderabad. The Jumbo was soon flying high in direction of Kaaba with our faces towards Mecca al Mukarram under supplications of Labiak Allah Humma Labiake Labaike La Shrika Laka Labbiak, in nal Hamda Wa Naimata Lakawal Mulk Laa Shrika Lak on lips of many pilgrims on board.

We did our Isha prayers sitting on our respective seats, a  delicious dinner was served and a brief  interesting info from the crew giving insight on the issues faced the its thousands of employees, and why air India is struggling and running in huge losses and is at the verge of closing.  This topic I will discuss in depth in this series in one of its parts soon.

We soon heard the captain announce the approaching of Miqat, for all those who are not Ahram to make Intention of Umra and wear Ahram (for those who were not in Ahram and were intending for a Umra, it was for them to go to the dressing area and change in to proper Ahrms and make a Niyah and prayer two Rakha Nafil and call Labaik for five times and prayer for acceptance by Allah and make the pilgrimage easy.

As we furthered our descend in to the Jeddah a distance away from the City of Makkah pass on our left we saw the glowing centre of Mothesism Makkah Al Mukkarama  and its magamity that was lighting the sky with its noor calling for bowing towards it in compliance of command of Allah in holy Quran submitting to the will and in obedience to creator of universe and all that is in it and billions of people across the length of and width of globe.

Soon our flight landed just 70 odd kilometers from Holy City of Makkah which is houses Kaba and the birth place of most loved and the last Prophet of Allah on whom word of God The Holy Book Quran Al Hakeem the book of Guidance was revealed some 14 centuries ago as a valid document and rule book for the welfare and guidance to all mankind.

It was told to us that all the Umra Passengers remain seated as we will be taken separately to the Haj Terminal for our emigration, customs and other formalities. In some time we were guided to a bus waiting on tarmac, the temperature outside in Jeddah Airport at night 10 30 was very warm, we reached Haj Terminal in about ten minutes.

Couple of officials of Airport Authority allowed few minutes for the Umra Passengers to gather in to a lounge where we got opportunity to freshen up and get ready for proceeding for our emigration procedure. One point that is notable is from quite some time the Saudi Authorities are handling even the Umra Pilgrimage Passengers in the same manner as the regular Hajj Pilgrims are handled. While there are many advantages to it and there few discomforts too.

Immigration was done in smoothest manner one can imagine, as the number of Umra Pilgrims coming in from all over the world during the times other than Hajj is low, though they increase in the month of Ramadan which was fast approaching on the day we landed in Jeddah there were good numbers of pilgrims.  Several Nationals land but during the month of Shaban the number of Iranian pilgrims is most, and flights from Egypt, Pakistan, India and are in good numbers too.

After immigration we were out in to the baggage collection hall, the conveyors and the handling of the baggage is not as one would expect and there is no one really to guide you to the conveyor belts that heap in loads of luggage from flights coming in with umra pilgrims. If you do not get to see and check the right conveyor your baggage will be dropped at the end of the conveyor and you will have to be alert and find the right conveyor for your flight to not loose time and cause discomfort.

The hall is good for praying and though the toilets are un-kept and one will hesitate and will find it not proper to use in the condition of Ahram. One would find that this is the area which is not up to the mark and there are no regular cleaners and maintenance people in the toilets both for the ladies and for the gents.  One gets surprised why it should be difficult for the authorities to maintain them.

Once a pilgrim is in hold of his baggage he will find lines of trolleys loaded with baggage waiting for baggage screen and none of the baggage is opened at least in my experience and what I could observe no pilgrims baggage was opened or stopped for questioning.

If all those who have traveled in the past must have experienced in the International Air Port Jeddah there used to be a big confusion the moment you are out of the immigration a Saudi Maqib or the Sponsor and some civil dressed Pakistanis and Saudis would ask for your passport and take it out to a small room where all the pilgrims passports were understood to have to be photo copied before they are handed over to the respective sponsors.

A very time consuming and uncertain procedure especially for elderly people who are travelling with our proper person to handle their affairs.  You needed some local known person to make the process fast and to make sure that the passports are returned to you and you are allowed to leave the premises, most of the time the sponsor who processes your visa is not present and has his agents to do the formality, that were just formalities.

A bus has to be organized by the sponsor and take the responsibility to transfer him or her to the holy places of Makkah and Madinah and bring him back on the day he plans to go back the idea was none of the pilgrims should misuse the Umra visa and over stay.

But not with the new arrangement in Hajj Terminal immediately after the custom there are cabins like immigration counters but the job is simple they ask your passport and quickly photo copy it and make couple of entries and give them back with no discomfort and confusion a big relief for the pilgrims.

Now you have officially and legally entered the Kingdom and the legal processes are complete, But  the obligations of the sponsors who have processed the visas still remains to make it more systematic there is a very huge and large lounges made with all comforts, form fast food joints, to eateries and small shopping area for requirements of hajis.

And the moment you are out of the terminal. There is police official who requests to see your passport to find who is your sponsor, and quickly calls the name, most of the time the sponsor or his representative is not present on one call he returns the passport to you back that is the moment you are actually fully free to leave.

There are several lounges and tens of buses waiting outside from the sponsorers who are waiting for collection of the passports of their sponsored Pilgrims in order to take them and drop them at Makkah, the catch here is once you are identified by the sponsor he will take the passport and ask you to sit a lounge that has comfortable seats numbering the capacity of the bus that will carry the pilgrims to Makkah, the problem is the bus will not leave till the whole capacity of the bus is filled.  It may take couple of hours to sometimes four to six hours or more, it depends on incoming flights.

There are couple of ways out, one if you are successful to escape the eye of your sponsor and are able to have a taxi or shared transport organized, as many of the drivers approach Hajji offering to drop to Mecca and the prize they offer is at the higher side and no private vehicle is allowed in the terminal area parking except the approve and the buses that are in waiting. Normal from Jeddah a limousine charges Saudi Riyal hundred to hundred and twenty five. But from the Hajj terminal one may end up paying per person hundred riyal or a bit less and for a full hire of a limousine it will not be less than two hundred fifty riyals.

The other way  to be on your own is . once the sponsor takes your passport and if you do not like to wait for hours in discomfort and anxiety to reach at the earliest to Mecca al Mukkaram for performing Umra as by now you are already in several hours in Umra and tired the sense is not made why a Pilgrim has to wait and undergo the hardship.  There are experiences of many Hajis who have paid the drivers of the representatives of the sponsor, amounts like hundred to two hundred riyals to get their passports back and be free to take their own transport and not wait hours at the terminal.

In our case there was a Limousine Driver who demanded two hundred fifty as fortunately when the police man called for the sponsor’s name he was absent.  We had the option to go by taking our own transport even if it costed more, but the driver soon comforted us with our luggage securely loaded in to the back boot of the car, we were again in our Labiak Allah Hum Labiakh recitation and heading towards Macca al Mukkaram.

It took less than hour for us  driving on a beautiful high way. busy with thousands of  big modern cars and suv’s cursing  on both directions to reach Mecca and our spiritual journey began with great comfort and immense spiritual alignment as we approached the city of Mecca like from the flight the city welcomed us with the glow of Masjid al Haram it was past mid night and the sky was glowing with the noor of Masjid al Haram and the world’s tallest  tower clock with Allah written above the clock  welcomed us to the Holy City of Makah to be continued… in part 2.