Haj a resounding success

By Badea Abu Al-Naja MAKKAH — This year’s Haj season has been a complete success thanks to excellent arrangements and consummate services provided to the guests of Allah by all the participating public and private sectors. Mina, the city of tents, looked deserted on Thursday as all pilgrims left for Makkah or for Madinah. The pilgrims who were in a hurry to complete their Haj rituals and depart for home left Mina on Wednesday, the second day of Tashriq. They left behind about half a million pilgrims who stayed the night and completed the stoning ritual on Thursday which was the third and final day of Tashriq. More than 300,000 people from the government and private departments including security forces and Civil Defense units provided services to the guests of Allah. The Mashaer train made 1,600 trips during which it transported more than 300,000 pilgrims between Makkah and the Holy Sites. The pilgrims also used more than 16,000 buses. More than 18 million cubic meters of desalinated water and five million meals were distributed in Makkah and the Holy Sites. Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabeah announced that there were no infectious of quarantine diseases among the pilgrims. He said 25 hospitals in Makkah and the Holy Sites in addition to 158 health centers including more than 5,000 beds provided health services to the pilgrims. The World Health Organization (WHO) also confirmed that there were no contagious diseases among the Hajjis. Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) on Thursday started its flights to transport domestic pilgrims to their respective destinations. Its first domestic Haj flight carried 250 pilgrims to Al-Hofuf. Other flights were flown to Riyadh, Dammam, Tabuk, Qasim and other Saudi towns and cities. On Friday morning, Saudia will start its flights to GCC countries with 450 pilgrims going to Kuwait. On Saturday, the national carrier will start its intentional flights to all parts of the world to carry 306,456 pilgrims back home.