Mohammad Dawood
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The beauty of the Red Sea, towering residential buildings and beautiful mosques in the city have really enchanted pilgrims from China and Indonesia.
At the end of the grueling six-day Haj pilgrimage, several pilgrims from these countries are visiting the corniche and Al-Rahma Mosque in the city.
Chinese pilgrim Lee Cheng said coming to Makkah was the dream of his life and he was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to achieve it.
“We were blessed with a smooth and serene Haj experience. I thank the Saudi government for all of its efforts in serving the pilgrims," said Cheng.
He added his group continued its tour in Saudi Arabia by visiting Jeddah. “I am astounded by the beauty of the Red Sea from Jeddah shore.
My group and I have taken plenty of selfies to document the beauty of this water and we had the chance of swimming in it too,” said Cheng.
He added they also noticed the towering residential buildings and the numerous mosques found in every corner.
“We got to pray the noon prayer in the historic Al-Rahma Mosque. Our stay here has been wonderful, the people were very hospitable and we have nothing but fond memories of Saudi Arabia,” said Cheng.
Chinese pilgrim Shaou Lin Sun said the experience of standing among rows and rows of Muslims coming from all over the world and pray together has been a humbling experience.
“I have never seen such a conglomeration of Muslims. We all prayed together and we prayed for the souls we lost in the Mina stampede.
I hope they are all in God’s mercy,” said Sun. He added now that he saw the beauty of the Jeddah Corniche and the sea, he understood why Jeddah is nicknamed the "Bride of the Red Sea.”
Indonesian pilgrim Abdulatheem Bogus said he is very grateful for all the efforts the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has put in to expand the Holy Mosques and offer the pilgrims the best of services.
“We had the opportunity to visit some sites in Makkah and Jeddah. We did some shopping and bought gifts for our families back home,” said Bogus.
Indonesian pilgrim Omar Mousa said he had visited Jeddah 15 years ago and he was astonished by the change it went through.
“The city is much bigger and much more metropolitan. When you look around you see a sea of buildings and towers. It is definitely much more beautiful today than what it was 15 years ago,” said Mousa.
