Faithful head from Jeddah to Makkah

Thousands of local pilgrims donned “ihram” (non-stitched cloth worn during the pilgrimage) and embarked on their Haj journey on Saturday evening from Jeddah.
Some hundreds of pilgrims gathered at Haj campaign offices early evening, with the number soaring after sunset prayers.
Many pilgrims are expected to leave for Makkah on Sunday, but many have opted to begin their pilgrimage on Saturday evening.
Most Haj campaigners have rented out function halls as embarkation points for their clients. These halls witnessed crowds and buses parked in front of their entrances. The Sulaiman Bin Oyes area on Sari Street was crowded with pilgrims in the evening.
Pilgrims leave for Makkah and perform “Tawaf Al-Qudoom” (initial round of circumambulation) on arrival. They then leave for Mina, where they have to arrive before noon. Pilgrims have to spend the night there before proceeding to Arafat after morning prayers.
Mohammed Ali from Lebanon told Arab News: “I prefer to leave beforehand so I can reach Mina easily. I have seen improvement this year compared with previous years.”
Abdullah Atungo from Indonesia told Arab News: “We don’t want to take chances. We want to fulfill our rituals in Makkah prior to moving to Mina.”
Several pilgrims turn to the Bab Makkah embarkation point in Jeddah in search of taxis, usually privately owned vehicles driven by Saudi citizens. Yet few have found such vehicles, since police are prohibiting private limousines from heading toward Makkah.
Eyewitnesses told Arab News that pilgrims are also being spot-checked by police.