Our World - Jeddah Religious Pilgrim

Seeing religious pilgrims around Jeddah is a fairly common sight.  Because Jeddah is the main gateway to two of Islam's holiest cities, Mecca and Medina. Religious pilgrims travel to Mecca to perform Hajj or Omra, and many of them desire to travel to Medina as well.  Jeddah lies between those two cities.

On every flight going to Jeddah, it is not unusual to notice at a certain point in the flight that several passengers have changed into the clothing worn by male pilgrims.  They wear nothing but two large pieces of plain heavy white cloth. The fabric has no shape, no buttons, snaps, or zippers to hold anything in place. One piece of cloth is wrapped around their lower half and the other is draped across their top half. All the male pilgrims are dressed the same.




Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.

Our World: Religious Pilgrims

The city of Jeddah is the major gateway to two of the holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. Consequently, millions of religious pilgrims travel into Jeddah each year.

Religious pilgrims are easily identifiable by their garb - unsewn white pieces of cloth wrapped around their lower and upper bodies.  Many male pilgrims also shave their heads when they perform the rituals of the pilgrimage.

Pilgrims can make their way to Mecca by car, bus, or hi-speed rail.

They travel to Saudi Arabia from countries all over the world.  Some have to save all their lives in order to perform Hajj, to complete this pillar of Islam.  Hajj happens once every year at a specific time and the number of the highly valued visas issued by Saudi Arabia is limited.

When the pilgrimage is performed other times of the year besides Hajj, it is called Omra.  Omra does not fulfill the Islamic requirement of performing Hajj.



Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.

Jeddah: Pilgrim on Mobile Phone

A religious pilgrim walks along a street of Jeddah as he talks on his mobile phone.  Each year millions of people travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at the same time for the annual pilgrimage called Hajj.  Because of its close proximity to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Jeddah is the gateway that most religious pilgrims travel through. All able bodied Muslims are required to perform Hajj at least once in their lives.  Many save up money for years in order to perform Hajj. Muslims may also perform the pilgrimage at other times during the year, but if they do, it is not counted as performing Hajj. This is called Omra when it is done at times other than Hajj.

Dress for Religious Pilgrims

All male religious pilgrims making the pilgrimage to Mecca wear the same thing: a simple white outfit made of two plain pieces of cloth with no seams, buttons, or zippers.  One is wrapped around the lower half of the body like a skirt, and the other is draped over the top part of the body as shown above.  The fabric can be anything ranging from cotton sheeting to heavier fabric like a towel.  All men dressing the same makes them all equal, no classes.

Women are not restricted in the clothing that they wear for the religious pilgrimage, but they must be covered properly according to Islamic standards, including the hair.

Our World: Religious Pilgrim

Religious pilgrims are a common sight around Jeddah.  They come to perform religious pilgrimages year round.  Hajj is the one time of the year when literally millions of Muslims come to Saudi Arabia to perform the religious pilgrimage.  There is a very specific time-frame for Hajj every year.  If a Muslim comes to do a pilgrimage at other times of the year, it is called Omra. 

Be sure to visit OUR WORLD TUESDAY, where family-friendly bloggers share a unique glimpse into what life is like all around our ever-amazing planet.