Abdullah Al‑Omrani, a researcher in Saudi history, describes to Sabq—with photographs—the journey of pilgrims arriving by sea more than half a century ago, after disembarking at the Port of Jeddah, as a continuation of what he presented yesterday. That journey took place on a day like this (26–11), but in the year 1379 AH.
He explains that after completing passport stamping and registration procedures, the wakīl al‑muṭawwif (the agent of the pilgrim guide) would secure a vehicle inside the Pilgrims’ City to transport them to Mecca. He notes that there were individuals known as “the agent’s assistants,” whose task was to carry the pilgrims’ luggage onto the cargo transport vehicle.
He adds that after leaving the Sea Pilgrims’ City, the pilgrims would reach the Umm al‑Salam checkpoint, which served as a police station and a base for inspectors from the Car Syndicate and the Passport Authority. There, officials would review and verify the pilgrims’ names and passports against the information provided by the driver.
He continues: after leaving the Umm al‑Salam checkpoint, the pilgrims would stop at the Bahrah checkpoint, where most buses transporting pilgrims would pause for rest, and where pilgrims could find everything they needed. At that time, Bahrah was a small town with an emirate office, a police station, a telephone and postal center, an ambulance station, several fuel stations, and many shops.
Al‑Omrani adds that 20 kilometers after leaving Bahrah, pilgrims would see two markers indicating the boundary between the ḥill and the ḥaram. These two markers had been constructed by the government of King Saud three years earlier, in 1376 AH. As soon as the pilgrims saw the markers, their chants of tahlīl and takbīr would rise.
He continues: air pilgrims followed the same procedures. There was also a city known as the Air Pilgrims’ City, established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz—may God have mercy on him—in 1378 AH, after he observed the hardship faced by pilgrims arriving by air, who were required to travel from the airport to the Pilgrims’ City at the port. Out of his concern to ease their journey, he established a dedicated city for air pilgrims, providing all means of comfort, cleanliness, free water, medical services, and on‑site entry processing.
Al‑Omrani explains in his illustrated research on the history of Hajj that air and sea pilgrims would meet at the Umm al‑Salam checkpoint, then at Bahrah, then at the boundary between the ḥill and the ḥaram, and then at the Umm al‑Dood checkpoint, which had procedures similar to those of Umm al‑Salam. From there, pilgrims would continue toward the entrances of Mecca. He notes that each year, according to his research, the Saudi government improves procedures and infrastructure to provide every possible comfort to the Guests of God.
He adds: at the gates of Mecca, vehicles would stop at the suʾāl area, where pilgrims would meet individuals known as “messengers” (murāsilīn), whose task was to guide drivers to the residence of each pilgrim’s muṭawwif. The messenger would receive between one and four riyals for this service. He would then escort the pilgrims to the muṭawwif’s home, from which they would proceed to the Sacred Mosque.
Sabq Newspaper