SAUDI ARABIA: Hajjis, finally!

It’s done.

Everyone is absolutely shattered. The men are all limping around comically with blistered feet and chafed thighs, laughing as they compare freshly shaved heads.

Nobody told them it would be this hard. In all their preparations, all their conversations with veteran hajjis, nobody had mentioned the mountains of garbage they walked through in Muzdalifa, or the prospect of marching six miles in cheap sandals through choking crowds desperately trying to keep your group leader's flag in sight.

Several pilgrims have wondered whether there’s some sort of conspiracy of silence at work among hajj survivors.

Maybe people just don’t want to discourage prospective pilgrims; maybe the experience gets rosier upon reflection. Or maybe it’s simply impossible to do these experiences justice with mere words and you simply have to experience it yourself.

Either way, it’s done. It was a religious obligation and it’s done.

For many, it was the hardest thing they’ve ever done, and at times it was sheer misery. But now that it’s over, they’re already getting a little nostalgic.

— Ashraf Khalil in Mecca

Photo: Young California pilgrims relaxing in Mecca after a grueling hajj.

SAUDI ARABIA: War Stories

Snapshots of hajj chaos:

• Imad Jomaa and his brother Ali spent hours wandering through the crowds in Mina, searching for somewhere to rest. But they couldn’t even sit on the sidewalk for long without being approached by a Saudi police officer yelling “Move hajji, move!” Finally they were taken in by a group of Iranian pilgrims, who offered food, water and a place to sleep for a few hours.

• Imam Moustafa Al Qazwini had to evacuate his son Mahdi from Mina after Mahdi collapsed due to illness, dehydration and a violent allergic reaction to mosquito bites. The ambulance was completely penned in by the crowds, so he half-carried Mahdi until he found a wheelchair for hire. Then he hailed down a motorcycle and squeezed both of them onboard for the final stretch back to Mecca.

• Yasmina Jennane spent 20 hours straight on a bus as it crawled through traffic on the road from Mt. Arafat. Finally the bus returned to Mecca while Yasmina’s husband Hakim completed the first phase of the “Stoning the Devil” ritual on her behalf. After a brief rest in Mecca, Yasmina and several others walked 45 minutes to Mina to reconnect with the main group, but had a hard time finding their campsite. Exhausted, they lay down and slept on the sidewalk of a highway overpass.

• In the chaotic 48 hours that followed Tuesday’s Mt. Arafat prayer vigil, the Costa Mesa pilgrim group splintered into multiple sub-groups. By Thursday afternoon, pilgrims began straggling back to their Mecca apartment building and swapping harrowing tales of confusion, exhaustion and hunger.
All were relieved to hear that despite the chaos, their pilgrimages were religiously valid. 

One key point: the only truly non-negotiable aspect of the hajj is the Arafat vigil. All other steps, if missed, disrupted or taken out of turn can be compensated in a variety of ways — through extra prayers, slaughtering additional sheep or having a proxy perform the step on your behalf.

— Ashraf Khalil in Mecca

SAUDI ARABIA: Reborn

The final step before pilgrims can leave the sanctified state of ihram: a head-shaving for the men and simple, symbolic trim for the women. Teams of barbers are on standby in Mina just outside the "Stoning the Devil" complex to provide the service for about $4 per pilgrim.

— Ashraf Khalil in Mina

SAUDI ARABIA: Stoning the Devil

A video clip showing pilgrims throwing seven stones each at a large wall symbolizing Satan. There are three walls inside the Mina complex, known respectively as the small, medium and large Satans.

The ritual is meant to symbolize each pilgrim overcoming his or her own temptations and inner demons. It all goes back to the Old Testament take of the Prophet Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his son on God's orders.

The details differ slightly between the Old Testament and the Koran, but in the Muslim version, after God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael, Abraham was approached three times by Satan who tried to talk him out of it. Each time he resisted temptation and threw rocks at the devil to send him away.

— Ashraf Khalil in Mina

SAUDI ARABIA: On the road to Mina

After sleeping on the ground for a few hours in Muzdalifa, the pilgrims join a mass procession walking toward Mina to complete the ritual of "Stoning the Devil."

— Ashraf Khalil in Muzdalifa

SAUDI ARABIA: Hajj hardships

Anyone out there still harboring any illusions that the hajj is simple or easy, please take a look at the following video clips.

— Ashraf Khalil in Muzdalifa

SAUDI ARABIA: Images from Mt. Arafat

Here are some photos of pilgrims at Mt. Arafat. Click on the image here to launch a photo gallery.

— Ashraf Khalil on Mt. Arafat

SAUDI ARABIA: Updates from the pilgrim trail

The Costa Mesa pilgrim group has run into problems on the road from Mt. Arafat.

Snafus with the Saudi authorities meant the group's two busloads of pilgrims left late for the Muzdalifa Plain — where they were required to arrive before sunrise Wednesday to head off on foot for Mina and the "Stoning the Devil" ritual.

The Arafat-Muzdalifa road was absolutely jammed and after about five hours, it became clear the buses wouldn't make it to Muzdalifa before sunrise. Imam Moustafa Al Qazwini led one busload, about 40 people, on foot for a two-hour pre-dawn walk through a chaos of teeming pilgrims and choking exhaust fumes. A second bus full of female pilgrims  was trapped even farther back on the road and several  of the men in our group had no way of knowing if their wives were all right.   

Our group arrived in Muzdalifa on time and slept for about two hours on the ground before continuing the foot journey to Mena. There they completed the stoning ritual, but then — according to Shiite custom — had to  wait for confirmation that the ritual sheep slaughter had been carried out in their name by Saudi authorities. Until the slaughter is confirmed, the pilgrims cannot remove their ihram clothing.

For reasons still unclear, the slaughter confirmation — which normally takes about three hours — has stretched into more than a day.

As of this posting, it's Thursday morning in Saudi Arabia. The two busloads have split into at least four different groups with many members still unaccounted for. A large pilgrim group remains at a campsite in Mina — essentially trapped in ihram. Small groups are trickling in to the group's Mecca home-base.

"I didn't know it would be like this," said one tearful female pilgrim.

— Ashraf Khalil in Mecca

SAUDI ARABIA: Declaration of intent

Here's a quick video clip showing our Southern California pilgrim group in their tent on Mr Arafat. Here, Imam Moustafa Al Qazwini is leading the group through their statement of intent to carry out the noon-to-sunset prayer vigil.

Apologies for the amateur quality of the video and for that annoying bit of dangling rope that I didn't notice when I was filming.

— Ashraf Khalil on Mt. Arafat

SAUDI ARABIA: Low-key but comfortable

National flags are everywhere during the hajj. Both as a display of pride and an attempt to keep track of one another, pilgrims here place their country’s flag on their buses, their bags and even on the back of their veils.

A quick glance through the streets or in Mecca’s Grand Mosque during prayers reveals flags from India, Turkey, Indonesia and Iran. One man sitting in the mosque last week wore a beige vest with “Kazakhstan” across its shoulders in large red letters.

But there are no American flags anywhere — despite a significant number of pilgrims from the U.S.
The group from Al Salam Tours in San Diego may not have U.S. flags sewn on its clothes, but members also aren't hesitant about telling people they’ve come from America.

Despite  ongoing tensions between the U.S. and most of the Muslim world, the Southern California pilgrim group members say the issue really hasn’t come up.

“Not that many people have cared, which is actually nice,” said Ellen Hajjali. As a fair-skinned Muslim convert who wears the veil, she’s accustomed to sticking out in America. But Caucasian Muslims are a common sight during the pilgrimage — Bosnians, Albanians and American and European converts.
“There’s lots of people here with fair hair and blue eyes,” Hajjali said.

Blog Mapper: Tracking the hajj

— Ashraf Khalil in Mecca

SAUDI ARABIA: This month is worth a year

The cries of the hawkers started up as soon as midday prayers finished at Medina’s Mosque of the Prophet.

“Fifteen riyals! Fifteen riyals!” shouted a young man named Badr, switching between Arabic, Farsi and Urdu.

A crowd of women descended on his box of black and red abaya gowns, rifling through the contents and initiating polyglot negotiations.

Ten feet away, a man who identified himself only as Abdul Rahman sold multicolored scarfs for 5 riyals (about $1.50) each. The crowd nearly engulfed him, pulling fresh packages out of his hands before he could unwrap them.

Always keeping one eye peeled for the baladeya — the local police — the hawkers were doing a roaring business. Inside the more legitimate Medina storefronts, business was equally brisk.

“This month is worth the rest of the year for me,” said Ahmed Ali, an Afghan merchant who owns a clothing store.

SAUDI ARABIA: Technology and the hajj, Part 2

According to Hannah Allam of McClatchy Newspapers, those who can’t make it to the hajj this year will be able to experience it virtually.

Just make sure you figure out how to put on those virtual pilgrims' robes first.

Blog Mapper: Tracking the hajj

— Ashraf Khalil in Mecca, Saudi Arabia