After 25 years of prayers, Moroccan’s Hajj dream comes true

Cairo: A Moroccan woman has prayed for more than two decades that her first trip to Saudi Arabia will be to perform the Hajj, an obligatory Islamic duty.

The 60-year-old woman’s prayer has been answered after 25 years and she is now in Saudi Arabia, fulfilling her dream of undertaking the rites this year.

“I used to cry and pray to Allah during my prayers and in prostration that the first place I travel to by plane would be Mecca. Allah has answered my prayer,” Hajja Naima Nadeem said with a joyous voice as she waited along with her husband at the King Mohammed V in Morocco to board a flight bound to Saudi Arabia.

Hajja Naima said she had never boarded a plane in her life. She expressed gratitude and appreciation for the facilities offered to them via the “Mecca Route” Initiative accessible to pilgrims from specific countries.

The programme was fully implemented in 2018, a year after it was launched on a trial basis.

“Mecca Route” is applied to pilgrims from Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Morocco, Bangladesh, Turkey, Cote d’Ivoire and Maldives.

The initiative has contributed to facilitating the hosting of pilgrims through qualified personnel at departure airports.

The scheme aims to streamline services to the pilgrims from these countries by finalising their procedures in the homeland, starting with taking their biometrics and issuing Hajj visas electronically, through completing passport measures, after verifying all health requirements are met. Other facilities include tagging and sorting out luggage at the departure airports.

On arrival in Saudi Arabia, the pilgrims head directly to their residences in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina on buses moving on designated routes while their luggage are delivered right to their accommodation places.

The approach seeks to save time and effort as well as to enhance the quality of services provided for them.