Pilgrims On the Way to Mina

Thousands of pilgrims began their slow and steady walk to the city of Mina on Saturday night, starting the five-day journey. By Sunday afternoon, the pilgrims will be in their tents. Here they will spend the day in meditation and then move to the plains of Arafat on Monday for the most important rites of Hajj. The day of Arafah is an important day for the Muslims.

In Makkah, pilgrims packed into the hundreds of buses and head to Mina. Some of them who are able, walked the distance.

The preparation and logistics for the pilgrims are all set in place. In addition to the numerous transport systems, the new Mashair Railway will start it maiden journey. The railway is expected to reduce the congestion on the roads of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.

Thousands of eateries have been set up to help the hungry pilgrims. Bakeries are prepared to bake 10 million loaves a day! Several health centers have also been set up to serve the pilgrims. Hundred Civil Defense teams and paramedics are available in case of any emergency. The set up is also equipped with 200 motobikes.

All these preparations will help the guests this year to have a pleasant experience. The weather, too, is not too hot. The moderate temperature is an added blessing to the pilgrims.

The Civil Defense has also made arrangements in the event of rain and flash floods. “We’ve made special plans based on detailed studies analyzing the possible dangers that could be caused by the geography of Mina, which is surrounded by mountains on all sides,” said Brig. Gen. Fhaid Al-Faidi, head of the Civil Defense in Mina.

The issue of pollution is also looked into. A special team equipped with devices, is set up to monitor the pollution level at Mina’s 12 tunnels. Tunnels will be closed if the air quality is found to be not suitable.

Al-Faidi called on pilgrims to follow instructions and said the Civil Defense is working closely with Tawafa establishments. “We’re receiving constant weather forecasts about rain. We’ve also got a note of key areas where rain could cause serious issues. There’s also a team of divers at our disposal, along with boats and other flood-related rescue equipment — these are located in the north side of Mina where flooding could be a problem if it rains,” he said.

Traffic moved fast down the highway from Jeddah. The four checkpoints on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway are fully manned but caused no delay. In Mina, traffic congestion is being kept to a minimum by keeping small vehicles away.

Arab News report said “If spirituality and peace could ever be personified then it is here — the tent city in Mina surrounded by Jabal Al-Noor (Mountain of Light) and other hills, an abode of millions of pilgrims who are all set to sacrifice their self to the will of God”.

The valley of Mina is filled with the chants of “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik” (O God, here I am answering your call). A surreal moment for the pilgrims! Pilgrims at Mina, in the fireproof tent, will be either resting after a long tiring journey from Jeddah and Makkah (about 5 hours) or be busy with prayers or reading Quran never wanting to lose the precious moments.

On Monday morning, the pilgrims will move toward Mount Arafat where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered his last sermon more than 14 centuries ago. They will spend the night at Muzdalifah and then return to Mina. They will throw stones at Jamrat Al-Aqaba representing the devil and sacrifice animals to mark the Eid Al-Adha, which starts Tuesday and will spend the final two days in Mina to take part in the symbolic stoning of the devil.

Hajj Sites All Geared Up!

Makkah prepares itself for its annual pilgrims. As with every year, the air of excitement blankets the holy city and sites.

The preparations for Hajj in the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah were inspected by Makkah governor, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. He is confident this year’s annual pilgrimage would be much better than those in previous years in terms of services. Of course the railway plays a new role this time. Apart from ease of pilgrim movements, it will also hugely reduce road congestion and save time. The new railway will have a capacity to transport 72,000 pilgrims an hour.

Another feature of this year's Hajj is the nonstop transport system which will be used this year to transport 780,000 pilgrims from from all over the world. The system will transport 44,000 pilgrims between the holy places within an hour.
“It will reduce the time for reaching Muzdalifah from Arafat from five hours to 20 minutes,” an official statement said. Further developments are planned so that it will transport three million pilgrims in the future.

This year for the first time an air ambulance service has been set up near the Jamrat. Prince Khaled inspected the fourth floor of the high-tech Jamrat Bridge, the last phase of which was completed, in Mina including the helipad to take pilgrims suffering from chronic diseases to specialized hospitals using the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s air ambulances. New Red Crescent helipads in Mawiya, Wadi Qadid, Shumaisy and Al-Laith would benefit pilgrims this year.

The Prince has urged all goverments to mobilize all their resources to serve the pilgrims and make the pilgrimmage a success.

The other projects done for this year was also the rainwater drainage system. The expansion work at the King Abdulaziz Airport’s Haj Terminal was also completed before the Haj season. This is helping the pilgrims enjoy quick services at the airport.

The Civil Defense department has installed about 500 CCTV cameras in Makkah and the holy places to monitor the movement of pilgrims 24 hours a day.

All this changes this year will ensure a safe and secure environment for the pilgrims.

Insha'allah, all pilgrims will able to complete the rites in full safety and enjoyment.

King Abdullah - The Third Most Poweful Person in the World

Congratulations to King Abdullah!

This title goes to show King Abdullah's role in world peace process. His actions being recognized the world over is testimony to his commitment and dedication to make the world a better place.

According to the America's leading business magazine, Forbes, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia ranks third as the most powerful person in the world only after Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama. Forbes described Hu as the "paramount political leader of more people than anyone else on the planet," and Obama was described as the "commander in chief of (the) world's largest, deadliest military, leader of the world's largest (in spending) and most dynamic economy and holds the unofficial title of 'Leader of the Free World.'"

Saudi King Abdullah was ranked third for being the head of the nation that “contains the world’s largest crude oil reserves and two holiest sites in Islam.”

"This an accomplishment for Saudi Arabia, for King Abdullah and the Islamic and Arab world. It is because of King Abdullah that Saudi Arabia's words and its peace vision is heard and respected, not just in Islamic and Western countries but also throughout the world,” said Shoura Council member Zain Al Abideen in Arab News report.

“Nearly all countries consult the Kingdom on important and pressing matters, and Saudi Arabia has gained everyone's respect with its abilities to help in these matters, especially the global economic crises and its aftermath", he added.

King Abdullah, the father of the nation, truly deserves this honor. Being the oldest reigning leader, he is known for introducing a series of reforms and at the same time being on par with conservative religious establishment. He was ranked third for being the head of the nation that "contains the world's largest crude oil reserves (and) the two holiest sites in Islam", reports Arab News.

King Abdullah, moved a suprising six places from the ninth position in 2009 to be the third. US President, Obama was the first last year.

2010 list saw some new names; British Prime Minister David Cameron, ranked seventh, and head of the Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi, who ranked ninth. Both joined the Forbes list for the first time. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ranked sixth and Pope Benedict XVI, ranked fifth. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, fourth in 2010 was third in 2009, and Chairman of Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke, eighth in this year's list was fourth in 2009.

Another Arab leader, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan ranked 56 for controlling “97.8 billion barrels of proved oil reserves” while Chilean President Sebastian Piñera ranked 51 after he “led country through aftermath of brutal earthquake, mining rescue, and put economy on track for growth.”

Mexican businessman of Lebanese origin Carlos Slim Helu, the richest man in the world, dropped from sixth to 21st place and co-founder of Google Sergey Brin from fifth to 22nd. Some are no longer in the top 10 list. They include Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp. who ranked seventh in 2009 and moved down to 13th in 2010. Bill Gates kept his last year’s 10th place. Last in the list was Australian Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who specialized in unraveling classified information that shook the world. He ranked at 68.

Last month, the annual King Faisal prize for services to Islam was awarded to King Abdullah. Mabrook!

Saudi National Day

Being in Riyad at this time of the year, I got to live the Saudi National Day in Saudi! It is wonderful feeling. Although the today is the National Day, we had a holiday yesterday. Spent the afternoon (till after Isha) shopping and window shopping! Yes that is fun way of spending your day off.

The funny thing is, unlike other weekend shopping trips, I was not the least bit tired. Hmmm...

Got to stick a "I Love Saudi Arabia" sticker on the door of my apartment and that was cool.

Nationally it is time to celebrate the country's achievement over the year. Which sector took the cake? Education. Yes and rightly so. A SR138 billion, was assigned for education and training this year. Well that is a wise investment for the future of the country which will not always be oil related. Salute to the King for investing in the future generations. We can see the fruits of the plantations by the numerous schools, universtites and other educational instiutation, springing up all over Saudi. That is something to be really proud of.

Apart from the educations sphere, there is massive constructions going on; new buildings, consturctions around the Makkah, expansion to the harmain, new housings, airports and other projects.

Saudi's rich heritage is something to celebrate about and that is partly exhibited in the recent Paris display of the country's treasures of the past, history and culture - certainly something to be proud of.

Saudi has a lot to celebrate and this is the time, peoplewill take to the streets to rejoice and celebrate!

May God bless you Saudi Arabic, the leaders and the people!

Happy National Day.

Caring Means Never Having to Work Under the Hot Sun

While I was in Bahrain, people use to complain about the poor laborers who used to toil in the hot summer’s sun. Soon after that, a law which banned them from working in the hours when the sun is the hottest.

I found that during these hours, the laborers would just sleep on the roadside waiting for the sun to go down. Many laborers said that going back to their camp and then returning to the working site was just too much of a hassle, so they preferred to stay on location and rest.

Now its great to know that Saudi is implementing the same law as in Bahrain. A decree is passed which bans companies from allowing their workers to toil from 12 noon to 3pm at the start of July till end of August -starting from next year! That was the news few days ago. Some workers have complained why they have to wait one year while they are suffering the effects of heat even now. Contracting companies have to prepare who this change so its not easy to implement this all of a sudden, hence they are given time. Considering the Ramadan is round the corner and the timings will change anyway, I don’t think it is such a big deal. Contractors are worried that the projects’ deadlines have to be met and by reducing the working time, they might not be completed in time. I believe that in Bahrain, to compensate for the lost hours, workers start earlier in the day and end at a later hour. Not sure if this is the case in Saudi.

Some are of the view that taking care of the employess and protecting them will ensure efficiency and better results. Why do they need to suffer under the sun and why wait for a year to get relief.

Companies that fail to comply, will face a fine or a shut down or both.

Both countries have passed this law in line with international labor laws which asks to protect the workers and provide them with healthy and safe environment. UAE, too, has a similar law where employees have to work between 12:30 pm till 3 pm from mid June to mid September.

Hopefully workers in Saudi do not have to work during the hottest hours from this year.

Increased Crime Rate in Makkah

While walking the streets of Makkah, one may see many foreigners. No not tourists but mostly people begging for some money. These people are mainly from Africa who have come to perform Umrah/Hajj and then stay on. Having run out of money, they take to the streets begging for food.

Out of kind heartedness, visitors to the mosques or people who just shop around, donate some amount to these beggars. However, it is not possible to clean the cities of these people. Some of them turn to criminals in order to stay alive. They form even form gangs.

Many residents are fed up of crimes that are spreading and are pleading with authorities to do something about the situation. These petty crimes such as thefts, robbery, pickpocketing, are often given light punishments. Crimes rates in Makkah are increasing and are attributed to these illegal overstayers. Most of them live in underdeveloped districts. Whenever possible, some are caught and sent back to their countries. They are finger-printed so that their re-entry will be prevented.

Youths with no proper iqamas, also take to the streets because they find it impossible to find suitable jobs. Some of them sell their wares by the roads or work as security guards or drivers, but others fall into criminal acts. One of the ways the authorities are thinking that might reduce the crime rate is to issue the, proper documents so that they can find proper jobs.

Many illegal people struggle to maintain a livelihood and feed their families. The authorities have suggested giving these people education and bring them into decent living so that they do not form gangs and get into crimes. Instead of brining in other foreigners from abroad, they, say, these people should be employed.

Some of the illegal women are employed as housemaids, as they do not demand much. Unfortunately these illegal housemaids help with burglars so they are not trustworthy to keep them in the house.

The other dangers of unemployed youths on the streets are the drugs. Youths get into selling drugs to earn some money. In the recent study, approximately 9,000 drugs-related cases were deported last year alone from Makkah. Eliminating unemployment, making the residents legal are some of the ways that crimes can be curbed.

Hopefully those concerned will carry out what needs to be done.

How Can an Expat get Driving License in Riyadh

How to get a driving license in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia for Expatriates?

You need to go to Dallah driving school which is near Dallah Hospital on King Fahad Highway. Just take any taxi and ask him to take your there.
Before going to the License Office you need following things:

1. Original Iqamah.
2. Photocopy of Iqama.
3. Photocopy of Passport.
4. Driving License of your country (e.g. India)
5. Translation of Indian driving license in Arabic from an approved translation institute.
6. A letter from your sponsor attested by chamber of commerce for issuing you the license.
7. 8 Passport size photographs
8. Medical report (Blood Group Test)
9. License Fee (75 SR pay it Riyadh bank/ATM for your iqama id and keep the voucher)

Once you have above mentioned things, just take a taxi and ask him to take you to Old Dallah Driving School. Taxi will take 15-20 Saudi Riyals. You are suggested to go there earlier in the morning (reach by 7 am).

Now go to shop next to the entrance gate. (You will be approached by persons for license payment in bank. They will asking 150 SR or 100 SR as fees for 75 SR Govt. Fee. Never turn to them as you had already completed that in Item #9)

From shop, you will get application form which will be filled for you in Arabic then and enclosed in file cover . Total cost for you is 8 riyals.

Now go to Room number 2 in the license office. The person on extreme left will do Eye-sight test. The person on extreme right counter will check your forms, stamp and send you to "License Check" counter. Here one more person will put a stamp on your application and send you for "first try". This trial place is behind the building where you are standing.

There will be a car or more and person will be sitting inside. He will ask you to drive the car a little ahead and then reverse a little. Don't worry it is just to see whether you have ever touched the car or not. The person inside will make his comments on your application.

Now come back to room # 2 and deposit SR 100. He will take your file and ask you to attend a 3 hour class. There will be a three hour class in which you will be taught the basics and after that there will be a computer test. Attend the class very carefully and also read all the things written on front and backside of the chart they give you during the class.

The questions will be mainly Identification of different signals and general driving rules. Signals & Traffic Rules can be viewed from Riyadh Traffic Site

The questions that are going to be asked for the touch screen computer test, will be mentioned during the class by the training instructor. After class they will take you to a room where you will wait for the test to start.

There would be 20 questions and you have to answer them in 30 minutes. If you make any mistake in the first ten questions, then you are failed. In next 10 questions you have to give only five correct answers.

If you clear the computer test then they will test your driving. Congratulations, if you clear the test. By the way, it is very easy test. You just have to drive the car for some meters or you might have to do some simple reverse etc. Cars are of model "Cadillac Custom/Camry 2006". Cars are with gears; not automatic.

Go to room number 1 (main room) and just on your left there is a place where "License Delivery" is written. Get your counter number from here and the go to the counter. Now wait until they deliver you the New Driving License.

Congratulations!!! You can drive the car in Kingdom for the next 5 years from Now.

Total Expenses

Taxi fare (1 day) = 30 SR
Photo Pictures = 15 SR
Blood Group Test = 15 SR
File Cover, Application form filling = 8 SR
Photocopies = 2 SR
Training Fee = 100 SR
License Fee = 75 SR
Indian License Translation = 20 SR
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Total License Expenses = 265 SR
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Your license is valid for 5 years
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