Saudi Gazette It is this time of the year when millions of Muslims around the world come to Makkah to perform Haj, the spiritual journey of a lifetime. To assess how easy Haj will be for them, every pilgrim wonders how Haj was last year and if pilgrims faced any difficulties. In an exclusive interview, Adeal Felimban, manager of the Hassan Abdullah Alqurashi and Mohammed Marzog Alqurashi company which has been serving Haj pilgrims for over 17 years, gave an insight of last year's Haj and what to expect this year. Felimban said that their company belongs to section A, which is one of the best of all camps, from services to prices. He added their company didn't face any major difficulties or problems in serving Haj pilgrims last year. However, there was one common problem that all companies faced, which was insufficient water supply to fill the air-conditioners and he hoped that it wouldn't happen this year. Regarding Haj services for pilgrims, he said that they upgrade their services every year. They provide air-conditioned buses with comfortable seats and make sure that buses are working to ensure timely movement of pilgrims. They also provide fresh hot meals to pilgrims, which are cooked in the camp and they have cafeterias that are open 24 hours. They also provide excellent medical services and have separate doctors for male and female pilgrims who are ready to serve them provide checkups and medication free of cost. One of the services which they provide to pilgrims is educating them on the rituals of Haj. “After we make sure that the pilgrims have finished all their applications and are ready for Haj, we give them a booklet and tape containing instructions of Haj, in order to educate them on Haj rituals, and when they are ready, we have instructors who they can contact if they need help,” he said. Felimban pointed out that they have a systematic and organized schedule planned for their pilgrims. Regarding the price which they charge for their services, he said, “Of course every company has their own price that represents their section. We charge SR6,100 for each pilgrim, which is one of the lowest price in section A.” Mohammed Nasser, manager of Alferdous United Company, which has been serving Haj pilgrims since eight years, said, “Last year there were a large number of applications, more than the year before, because of the risk of swine flu. He added that this year, they received applications from 1050 pilgrims in 3 days. Regarding their services, he said they provide the best medical, food and transportation services to pilgrims. “Last year, we had an instructor for every 50 pilgrims to help them during their journey when there was no train service. However, this year, the ministry has an organized schdeule for pilgrims to avoid crowding and if a pilgrims needs help, he can contact the camp. Regarding prices, Nasser said, “Our prices are cheap compared to other companies. We give special discounts to those who apply early and they pay SR7450 while the regular applicants are charged SR7850 SR.” Yaser Mohammed Alghamdi, who performed Haj last year shared his experience. “My journey was smooth and I didn't face any problems last year, except that the train stopped for some hours. The prices have increased by 30 percent this year, but I didn't face any problems while applying for Haj,” he said. Ahmed Al-Tejani, a man who performs Haj every five years said, “I didn't face any problems while performing Haj last year and the police was always available to help us.” __
