MADINAH, 30 December 2006 — Haj pilgrims have all left for Makkah and this holy city now remains packed with visitors.
“It’s now an established trend for the residents of Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province to celebrate the Eid Al-Adha here,” said to Abdul Saleh, a local hotelier.
Visitors come during this time of the Haj so that they can take advantage of hotel discounts. Some of the hotels report occupancy rates exceeding 80 percent,
Businessmen, traders and shop owners, however, consider this as the best time, as they can reap huge profits.
“This is a bonus for us,” Mohammed Faisal, a shop attendant, said. “Visitors come in large numbers and after praying at the Prophet’s Mosque, they go shopping.”
“Before, we had a good business due to the presence of pilgrims. Now we make good profit due to the visit of seasonal pilgrims,” Ashfaq Mohammed, a supermarket supervisor said.
“I’m here with my family and having a great time,” said Mohammed Mohsin, a Jeddah medical doctor.
“We visit the holy mosque, enjoy the cold weather and are better placed with hotel discounts,” he added.
Ibrahim Zahid, a visitor from Riyadh, said this was his fourth visit with his family: “When we don’t perform Haj, this is what we do; we come here to pray at the holy mosque.”
In fact, there are so many visitors here from elsewhere in the Kingdom that everyone finds a friend or relative from his place. “I see some of my friends here as if I never left Riyadh,” said Zahid.
A Jeddah resident said the city was full of pilgrims and the traffic heavy especially in the past few days and so he chose to come here.
Pilgrims have been arriving here for some weeks before the Haj. In the second phase, after the Haj, pilgrims will start arriving here and stay for some days or weeks before returning home.
