FREE Internet, for the first time, is being made available to those performing Haj, along with a number of other innovations designed to enhance and make easier some aspects of the grand pilgrimage to Makkah. The Internet availability presumably will serve two ends. One, those who are are at various spots around the holy sites can communicate with friends and family back home, conveying the Haj experience to those unable to make the trip. Second, it also allows pilgrims to leave messages easily for one another. With the enormous numbers of participants, it is easy to become separated from you party and others you intend to meet up with. The wireless Internet connection will also be available on the newly up-and-running trains ferrying passengers along the Holy sites. The trains, another new addition, connect Makkah to Arafat, Muzdalifa and Mina, where a giant tent city houses millions of the visitors. It is expected that the train network will cut travel time bet-ween the sites from several hours to less than an hour. Another addition for this Haj season, primarily safety-oriented, is the completion of the five-story walkway that funnels pilgrims through the ritual of “stoning the devil” at the Al-Jamarat pillars. This area has traditionally been prone to overcrowding resulting in stampedes, and the new walkway should all but make memories of those days. The improvements to the infrastructure of the Haj are welcome by all as they relieve some of the more extreme hardships and difficulties from the process without touching the rites themselves. The process remains firmly rooted in its earliest incarnation, making the addition of some modern conveniences that much more acceptable. It is a utilization of the new to enhance the old, modern technology put to use in embracing the timeless. __
