I’ve just completed Hajj brehs

FAH1223

FAH1223

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:wow: a very humbling journey

I did it with my Somali passport so I traveled from Somalia to Medina first. Got to visit Prophet Muhammad’s mosque and his grave, peace be upon him.

Then got here to Mecca ten days ago. Did Umrah in my ihram, switched back to regular clothes for a few days hanging around the city. Then last Wednesday till last night was staying in camps in Mina and Arafat. Then doing the stoning of the devil at the Jamarat.

So much walking in the heat, but so worth it :blessed:

My parents are comparatively young (late 50s to early 60s) compared to a lot of the Somalis who have their parents here (in their 70s or 80s). The camping with Somalis was an adventure.

And made my return to the Kaaba this morning :blessed:

Now heading back to USA
 
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Conan

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Salute.

Any reason why you decided to use a different passport, did it make the experience easier?

Did you go though Somaliland or Mogadishu?

Were the crowds overwhelming?
 
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richaveli83 said:
Two of my uncles made Hajj years ago. They said it was a life altering experience. Glad you were able to make it, breh.
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May God accept from them. Ameen!

Conan said:
Salute.

Any reason why you decided to use a different passport, did it make the experience easier?

Did you go though Somaliland or Mogadishu?

Were the crowds overwhelming?
Click to expand...
Infinitely cheaper to do it from Somalia. I was in Mogadishu for the last couple weeks of May.

I got my Somali passport earlier this year. Constitutionally you are a citizen if your father was born in Somalia.

And speaking of Somaliland, they all were with the Somalia group cause they can only travel with Somalia passports. But their travel agency was a bit more organized than the other ones including the one my family used. Going from Arafat to Muzdalifah was insane and chaotic.

It’s like $4,500 for the package. And you definitely get what you paid for. But of course we arent doing it for vacation but for completing a pillar of the deen. I had to pay for my DC to Mogadishu and my Jeddah to DC flight separately via Qatar Airways. We used Daallo Airlines from Mogadishu to Medina which was part of the package. My parents and my brother don’t go back to Mogadishu till the end of the month and the hotel is paid for so they’re chilling the next 2-3 weeks. They don’t go back to the states till late summer.

And technically I could stay with them and fly back cause my package paid for that length but I got work!

If I did it from the USA, I’d have to get into that lottery and then pay 4 times that. My little brother had to do it that way cause he has a security clearance (so no 2nd passport) and he flew from DC to Jeddah with his group that he barely got into paying near $20k. With that said, he has been in relatively luxury staying at towers and not tents in Mina and Arafat.

The crowds going to do the stoning at the Jamarat on Saturday were crazy! When I was throwing my stones I got pulled in and was sandwiched in front of so many people. Luckily I’m 6’3” and I can tower over people and kept my eyes on my dad, my other brother and this old Somali guy who was with us.
 
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FAH1223 said:
May God accept from them. Ameen!


Infinitely cheaper to do it from Somalia. I was in Mogadishu for the last couple weeks of May.

I got my Somali passport earlier this year. Constitutionally you are a citizen if your father was born in Somalia.

And speaking of Somaliland, they all were with the Somalia group cause they can only travel with Somalia passports. But their travel agency was a bit more organized than the other ones including the one my family used. Going from Arafat to Muzdalifah was insane and chaotic.

It’s like $4,500 for the package. And you definitely get what you paid for. But of course we arent doing it for vacation but for completing a pillar of the deen. I had to pay for my DC to Mogadishu and my Jeddah to DC flight separately via Qatar Airways. We used Daallo Airlines from Mogadishu to Medina which was part of the package. My parents and my brother don’t go back to Mogadishu till the end of the month and the hotel is paid for so they’re chilling the next 2-3 weeks. They don’t go back to the states till late summer.

And technically I could stay with them and fly back cause my package paid for that length but I got work!

If I did it from the USA, I’d have to get into that lottery and then pay 4 times that. My little brother had to do it that way cause he has a security clearance (so no 2nd passport) and he flew from DC to Jeddah with his group that he barely got into paying near $20k. With that said, he has been in relatively luxury staying at towers and not tents in Mina and Arafat.

The crowds going to do the stoning at the Jamarat on Saturday were crazy! When I was throwing my stones I got pulled in and was sandwiched in front of so many people. Luckily I’m 6’3” and I can tower over people and kept my eyes on my dad, my other brother and this old Somali guy who was with us.
Click to expand...

Is Mogadishu safe nowadays? Or do you still need convoys and escorts to move around?

The package from Somalia, are they putting you in tents or in hotels? I imagine it being cheaper is about the relative distance as well as the purchasing disparity between Somalia and the United States.

What were the Nigerians behaving like out there :mjlol:
 
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