scot47

https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/...f-saudi-arabia

When I was living in Jeddah (1970, 1990/1991 and then 1996/2002) Pilgrimage was an amazing phenomenon. I am an outsider and a non-muslim, but I was genuinely impressed by the share scale of an operation that catered for nearly 3 million visitors in a short period.

This year has been different. I shall not see The Hejaz, or Jeddah, again. Living there changed me and gave me a different perspective on Life. ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ‎

scot47

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...ntl/index.html

Very strange I lived in Jeddah for some years. I was there when in excess of 2 million came for Haj. Jeddah was an incredible place anyway, but during Pilgrimage was really busy. Shara Gabel in The Souk downtown was packed with Hajjis spending money on gifts to take home.

charlie-k

Is it ok for non muslims to visit? Or is that a silly question?

csdf

It's not a silly question, but the answer is no, they can't visit.

flares

If I recall Mecca is an absolute no go. It's very close to Jeddah and flights into Jeddah pass over the place and a wee tannoy message relays the fact. Madinah you can visit as a non Muslim however the central area is no-go. You may be able to get special dispensation for necessary work.

Jeddah has it's own Haj terminal and Mecca is designed for mass transit - i.e hotels don;t have car parks under then they have coach stations; huge walkways between the holy sites. Seeing the migration of white robe clad faithful making their way to haj is quite something

nonthaburi

Yeah. I visited Medina last year, and like you say, apart from the central Al Haram area it's all accessible. Sort of surrounded by a ring road so fairly obvious where you can and can't go. I got some photos of the main mosque standing outside the old railway terminus/museum.

Minarets of the main mosque in the distance.

Hejaz railway terminus. Closed when I wanted to visit the museum typically.