Hajj steps 4: in Mekkah

You have reached Mekkah, and it is time to perform Umrah of Hajj (if you are performing tamattu' Hajj).

Our hotel was about 20mn drive from Mekkah, at the limits of Mina. Our group provided us with mini-bus transports that were going back and forth at regular timing. The pick up point was agreed before hand, right before dropping us in Mekkah, then we went on for the Umrah.
Our Umrah was performed at night, we reached the door # 1 by azan of Maghrib, we were done 2 hrs later.

Al hamdulil'Allah we managed to perform the tawaf in the ground level.

Tawaf - 5th Zul Hijjah . Do not be impressed by the crowd and just be a drop in the Ocean

Outside the Haram at night

Some useful data:
According to the crowd, you should try to make the Tawaf on the ground floor. Just do not get impressed by the crowd and be part of the crowd, a drop in the ocean. Follow the human flow/current. Allah Did not send you there to be scared, so just relax, enjoy these sublime moments, thank Allah to have brought you there and make your Umrah with the most perfection that you can.
If it gets really crowdy due to some undisciplined brothers & sisters, then you have the choice to go to the 2nd or 3rd floor. We actually made our Tawaf of arrival on the ground level, but then, we made the Tawaf Ifadah on the Ground + 3rd level (due to severe crowd).

One Tawaf at ground level (sahan) = 125m, 5mn/turn (15mn/turn during Ifadah)
One Tawaf at 2nd or 3rd level = 600m (12-15mn/turn)
One saii (leg) between Safah & Marwah = 370m
The leg Safah-Marwah & return = 740m (15-20mn time)
Note: the above figures are approximate for the time duration of course as it will depend on your physical condition and the real crowd you will face as it is not the same throughout the day

Tawaf ground level - Perimeter data

Tawaf 3rd floor.

How to remember how many turns you have done?:
Each person has a method to remember how many turns he/she has done. Mine is to rely onto the watch, I know that it takes about 5mn for one turn, thus I notice the time I started, then work from there. It will depend on each individual, some people have a small counter, others use a knot etc. It must be noted that the tawaf on the ground level might be very difficult on the Ifadah day, so going on the 2nd or 3rd level will be longer in distance,but it will be faster in time and you will be more relaxed to make your duas.
Once you finish the 7 tawafs, pray the 2 rakaat behind maqam Ibrahim, drink from Zamzam water while making lots of duas, then head to Safah to start the saii..

Saii between Safah-Marwah :

Safah- Marwah legs. Click for better view

At the end of the saii between Safah and Marwah, you would then exit the Haram via the door at the Marwa, where you would find hairdressers and shave your head.
Your Umrah has now been completed, and you will enjoy (hopefully) in Mekkah some time before the Hajj starts. Make a maximum prayers in the Haram Mosque due to the large rewards Allah Blessed this holy place, each salat is equivalent to 100,000 salat elsewhere...

Tawaf 2nd floor - Beginning and end spot marked by these green Neon lights

Just be one drop in this ocean and make tawakkul onto Allah

Whatever timing between5-7 dhul hijja, the place will just be very full just like here.

What about people with wheel chairs?:

If you have an elderly person with you, or if someone with you is too tired to continue walking, you will have to rent a wheel chair from the Haram (they are situated at the ground level close to the Safah doors).
You will find it cheaper if you rent the wheel chair from outside the Mosque than having to do it inside the Mosque. But there are just circumstances like I faced when my daughter aged 13 could not move anymore after 3 rounds of the tawaf Ifadhah on the Eid Day, and we had to find a wheel chair for her, so it was an experience for us.

Price for a wheel chair + one person to push you for (7 Tawafs + Saii between the Safah & Marwah) = 900 SR - 1200SR. We paid 650 SR because this is all we had in pockets and he agreed!. Of course these prices are not going to be fixed and you will probably hear any pricing, it will be up to you to negotiate with whomever Allah would have Put in your way at that moment.

Note that the wheel chairs are not allowed on the ground level, there is a facility corridor along the 2nd floor just for people with wheel chairs and it is very convenient (but they do not allow anyone else besides the person pushing the wheel chair & the person sitting on the wheel chair). If you are a group of 3 or more, you may then chose to go to the 3rd floor.

The person whom you would have rented to push your person is in business before all, He will then try to make the tawafs in as shortest time as possible and you will have trouble catching up with him. Agree on a place to meet with him at the end of the tawaf before starting the Safah & Marwah saii. 
It will be the same issue again for the Saii between Safah and Marwah, they (push-chair guys) are not going to spend long time for you or the person on the wheel chair to make the recommended duas, so insist that he must give you enough time to make the duas or you won't pay him.

Wheel chair corridor  along the esplanade on the 2nd floor.

Only one person pushing the wheel chairs will be allowed on the corridor.

Note on Naafil (additional) Tawaf:
Once you are done with your Umrah, you should leave the ground level for the people who are still coming and who need space to perform their Tawaf. I heard several lectures where Ulamah are against these additional Tawafs done during Hajj season, because it is impeding the way to the coming pilgrims and because it was not reported that the Prophet (S) made such tawaf during his hajj. So be respectful to the others and give them a chance to make their Umrah at the ground level, and do not be a cause of obstruction to the others.

Once you are done with your Umrah, leave the space to others, do not be a source of obstruction to others

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Hajj steps 3: Going to Mekkah

The time in Madinah comes to an end and it is time to travel to Mekkah. Hopefully, the trip will be done during the day. Your very first stop is only at a short distance, the Meeqat. Our group left the hotel at 09:00 AM and we reached the Meeqat 20mn later. The buses used were comfortable. You will probably be asked to wear the Ihram from the hotel and to take the shower in the hotel, so that you will limit the stop time in the Meeqat. This idea from our group team was very good indeed, the less time you will spend in the Meeqat, the faster you will reach Mekkah, besides the fact that the shower in the hotel is cleaner than the one in Meeqat.


Advices:

• The road to Mekkah will be direction South, you will thus have the afternoon sun (which is the hottest) on the right hand side of the bus. If you have issues with heat, you better chose a seat on the left hand side of the bus (and away from the bus toilets), that could help make your journey more comfortable.
• If you are a tall person like me, the narrow bus seats would be an issue for the knees, you may use Ibuprofen gel and massage your legs/knees before starting the journey. This will provide long lasting pain relief and don't forget that you will need all your strength to perform your Umrah once in Mekkah, so take very good care of your legs/knees. I have chosen a non-perfumed gel Ibuprofen to remove any doubts regarding the perfumes while in Ihram. If you cannot find one, then just put it before starting your Ihram state, you will then be fine.
• Make sure your medicine bag along with drinking water/some food is kept with you inside the bus, once your put your luggage in the bus trunks, you will not be able to find them until you get to your hotel in Mekkah.

Meeqat: Dhu'l-Hulayfah
This meeqat is about 9 kilometers from Madinah (15-20mn drive only) and about 450 kilometers from Mekkah. Dhu'l-Hulayfah is the meeqat for those who live in Madinah and for those who approach Makkah from that direction.

DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE that some people do, thinking that the meeqat is the one very close to Mekkah, you will have to pay blood for this mistake for you and every single person who would have come under your umbrella.

Meeqat Dhul Hulayfah - Madinah

Meeqat Dhul Hulayfah, about 9KM away from Madinah - Click to zoom.

In the meeqat, you will pray your 2 rakaat and make your niyyat for Hajj (Tamttu, Ifrad, Qiran ect.) or Umrah. In our case, we did Hajj Tamattu, so we made niyyat for Umrah to be followed by Hajj. You only say "Labbayka Umrah" for this case, then you start your Talbiyah. Only one person in our group made Ifrad and had to stay with his Ihram all the time untill finishing hajj.

Meeqat name:
This place has several names; Dhul Hulayfah, zul hulayfah, Abaar Ali (Ali wells), Abyaar Ali, Miqat Mosque,  all are indicating the same place.

KEEP A REFERENCE point as soon as you get out of the bus. Even if the place you park seems empty, by the time you would get back, there will be dozens of other buses obstructing the view, and you may end by getting lost. The parking lot is  huge, hundreds of people will be there, several buses would all look the same.

Dhul Hulayfah Bus Parking. Keep a reference point to not get lost.

Agree with the group leader for a place to meet, if the group if good, they will certainly provide small leaders to lead the pilgrims from the meeqat mosque back to the buses.

Dhul Hulayfah Bus Parking. Keep a reference point to not get lost.

Keep always with the group, don't forget to take all the phone numbers of the different people from your group in case you get lost. Our group provided us with Saudi Sim Cards (Mobily), which was very convenient and very helpful, may Allah Reward them high for this.

Dhul Hulayfah Bus Parking. Keep a reference point to not get lost.

Once you get back to the buses, keep on making the talbiyah.

All ready, back to the buses and hit the road to Mekkah

On the road to Mekkah:
The road is straight highway and very well maintained. It should be used for you to make a maximum of Talbiyah, reading Quran, making zikir etc. Depending with the group you would be with, try to take some food with you to calm any hunger until the group provides with food. There are stops on the way where free food boxes are distributed.

Straight highway to Mekkah. These mountains are the same ones that the Prophet (S) saw

Monkeys on the road:
About half way to Mekkah, we were surprised to find a group of Monkeys by the road. The bus stopped for a while just for the people to see this unusual animal waiting for some food from travelers.

Monkeys on the road from Madinah to Mekkah

Monkeys on the road from Madinah to Mekkah

Facilities:
It is important to highlight here that there are limited facilities where you could find (clean) restrooms. The buses stopped in a place for us to pray Dohor and go to toilets, the least word to describe the toilets was that they were completely filthy, and the word is very weak here.
In all cases, TAKE YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLE when you go inside, do not use the toilet water taps as they are full of germs and you may end catching the biggest infection of your life, so use your own water bottle (that you would have kept aside for this purpose when you left Madinah). The water taps would probably be empty anyway due to the large amount of people passing by. We were lucky that our buses had toilets inside them, but not anyone would have that luxury while doing their pilgrimage.

Food and water should not really be a problem because you will find free distribution points/stops along the road. Some of these stop places have restaurants where you may also buy your own food, or coffee, then get back to the buses and carry on your way. If you have elderly people with you, you will need to make sure that the buses would stop at the right place, but even if they tell you that they will, chances are that you would end in a place with poor toilets facilities are high, just plan for the worst accordingly and you will avoid having bad surprises.

Journey time:
It took us 7 hrs to reach Mekkah once we left Madinah and this is certainly a very good timing. The buses would generally take about 11-13 hrs to make the same trip, our 4 buses group stopped only twice (once in meeqat, and once for Dohor prayer), so we managed to save on timing. We reached Mekkah around 4PM, still in daylight, then drove a bit to our hotel, which was at the limits of Mekkah and very close to Mina.

More Food & water was gracefully distributed at this stop, about 1hr before reaching Mekkah 

Remember that you are in a state of Ihram, there will be a lot of tests for you, so stay PATIENT all the time.

Important note: some of the food distributed contains packets of nuts/peanuts, although these could be good to boost your energy, they are certainly not good helping you keep your Wudhu, because they generate gas in the abdomen, and you will be passing wind. Just avoid these as much as possible until you reach your hotel and have access to facilities again.

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