MAKKAH: Over 2.5 million Muslims are headed to Makkah, Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia, to perform the pilgrimage of Hajj, which is expected to be the biggest in history as massive crowds could break attendance records despite high prices.
With the minimum cost for Hajj soaring to 26,000 riyals ($7,000) this year, the options for Palestinian pilgrim Abu Anas Abu Rahal were limited as he hoped to find cheaper lodgings for a week-long stay in Makkah.
Despite choosing the cheapest-offered package, the 65-year-old struggled to pay the bill, which included the cost of travelling to Saudi Arabia by land 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 the millions of Hajis [pilgrims] expected to attend the 2023 pilgrimage season this week in Mecca and Medina, defying global inflation and higher prices for Hajj services.
Authorities in the kingdom said more than 1.6 million pilgrims had already arrived for the pilgrimage as of Sunday. The gathering officially starts on Tuesday.
