Egyptian pilgrims start their journeys to Saudi Arabia on Friday

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Fri, 03 Aug 2018 - 04:04 GMT

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Fri, 03 Aug 2018 - 04:04 GMT

FILE- Egyptian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia

FILE- Egyptian pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia

CAIRO – 3 August 2018: The first batch of Egyptian tourist Hajj pilgrims start traveling to Saudi Arabia through land routes on Friday. About 12,000 pilgrims are to travel through 300 buses, according to Magdy Shalaby, the head of Hajj and Umrah higher committee in the Ministry of Tourism.

Shalaby said that the rules of Hajj for this year required that the model of the vehicle should be one that was not manufactured before 2009, and be equipped with a GPS device and a speedometer, in addition to ensure the validity of the car technically as well as safety measures.

Pilgrims traveling through airlines will start their journeys on Sunday, and they will return to Egypt by Aug. 28.

The tourist Hajj packages are provided by the Egyptian tourism companies, while Hajj lottery packages are supervised by the Ministries of Interior and Tourism through a random draw.

The Ministry of Tourism worked to assure good services and facilities to Egyptian pilgrims, and to facilitate and fast track travel procedures, ensuring them good, affordable accommodations preparing for the annual Islamic pilgrimage season.

In addition, Cairo AirPort has stepped up preparations for receiving pilgrims and providing them with all services. It also provided umbrellas with fans and water sprinklers for relatives of passengers, to protect them from high temperatures.

A total of 78,000 Egyptians are recorded to be traveling to Hajj this year, including 22,000 pilgrims who have won the governmental Hajj draw, Ministry of Interior announced earlier in July.

78K Egyptians are traveling to Hajj this year: ministry

CAIRO - 17 August 2017: A total of 78,000 Egyptians are recorded to be traveling to Hajj this year, including 22,000 pilgrims who have won the governmental Hajj draw, Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday.




The number of Egyptian pilgrims has risen by 5 percent in five years, a statement said, adding that the ministry pulls all stops to ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims before and after completion of Hajj rituals.

During July, the first batch of 5,000 Egyptian pilgrim winners of the governmental Hajj draw arrived in Saudi Arabia, with 1,289 passengers having arrived at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and 4,565 others in Medina, Egypt’s Consul General in Jeddah Hazem Ramadan said on Monday.

EgyptAir to operate flights to carry 50K pilgrims

CAIRO - 1 August 2018: EgyptAir will begin operating flights to carry more than 50,000 pilgrims to perform Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia as of Wednesday. Chairman of the national carrier company Sherif Ezzat said that the company is scheduled to fly pilgrims from both North and South Sinai to Jeddan International Airport on Wednesday, while the first flight to Medina will take off Thursday carrying pilgrims from Giza and Port Said governorates.



EgyptAir will began operating flights to carry more than 50,000 pilgrims to perform Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia as of Wednesday.

Chairman of the national carrier company Sherif Ezzat said that the company is scheduled to fly pilgrims from both North and South Sinai to Jeddah International Airport on Wednesday, while the first flight to Medina will take off Thursday carrying pilgrims from Giza and Port Said governorates.

The hajj, a five-day ritual which retraces the journey of Prophet Mohamed that took place 14 centuries ago, is a religious duty that should be carried out once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

It is the world's largest annual Muslim gathering, with over 2.3 million people attending this year. The faithful come from nearly every country in the world, speaking dozens of languages and sometimes practicing Islam in different ways based on local customs or traditions.

Millions of Muslims from around the world travel to Mecca every year. Saudi authorities say more than two million Muslims participated 2017’s hajj season, whose rituals are regularly performed in Mecca and Medina.

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