Things beyond this point got so busy that I couldn’t write in my journal until much later. Here’s what happened:

The departure point, as we knew, was then just a five-minute drive away from Mazhar uncle’s place and he drove us there by 11:30 pm. Two big school buses were parked behind a market area, Minarah Market and we could see people arriving with their luggage.

Apparently, as most people in the group were from Jeddah, or within Saudi Arabia, there was not much confusion regarding the process and things went smoothly. The group co-coordinators went between buses with checklists to make sure everyone was on board.

People took their time in arriving, then there was some issue with the baggage as to where huge bags should be accommodated. Anyway, those problems were solved and by 1:00 am, reasonably sooner than was expected, the engines roared to life and we were finally moving!

Our bus, as we found, had an air-conditioning problem, and being school buses, the windows wouldn’t open much at all. It got a little stuffy but we had to bear with that with patience, hoping that the drive wouldn’t be long – although from what I had heard, it took several hours to get to Makkah.

Day 3: 7th January - 7th Dhul-Hijj)
Arrival in Mina (?!)

Abba, Amma and my sisters all were lucky enough to find themselves sleepy and enjoy a nap. My sleep deprivation kicked in, preventing any further sleep (yes, very weird) and I busied myself with filming things of interest on the video camera.

We stopped once or twice to coordinate with other buses owned by our Hajj group (Al-e-Yahya group). Packs of thick plain yogurt drink were distributed – it’s the best thing to have on Hajj, to keep the stomach in order. In Arabic, it’s called Laban.

By 2:30 am, we were at the check post and it was actually surprising to have got there so early. Admitted, yes, there were long lines of cars at the check post for Makkah but the process was quick. The security personnel for Hajj peeked into the buses, asked a few relevant questions, and we were cleared in ten minutes!

As you’d remember, we had thought the whole group would be going to Makkah, perform Umrah and then go on to Mina. But we forgot the fact that most people in our group were from Jeddah and they didn’t have to do Umrah of Hajj. They were performing Hajj-e-Ifrad, (as they resided within the Meeqat boundary). Thus, there was no need for the group to go to Makkah, they had always planned to leave for Mina.

This became clear to me when I saw our buses take the turn to Mina after the check post, and travel along the ring road bypassing Makkah. I decided not to wake my parents and worry them unnecessarily, and they woke as the buses entered Mina at 3:30 am.

.: Mina

Mina was quite different from what I had imagined it as – rather bare, with little organization. Whoa! It was a tent-city in itself, no wonder! The tents, quite stylish in themselves, were all planned and numbered with proper corridors. Being at ground level, I obviously couldn’t see all around Mina, as I would in aerial view so the thought of ‘thousands of people’ just didn’t make sense just then.

It felt like any ordinary night, except we’d now be living in tents, in a new experience. Our tents, thankfully, were by the road (running along one margin of Mina, Muzalifah and Arafat) and as we found later, they lay within the boundary of Muzdalifah, being in fact, outside Mina. This isn’t worrisome, as a small part of Muzdalifah adjoining Mina has been included in Mina as ‘New Mina’ by the scholars to accommodate the swelling numbers.

I was thoroughly fascinated by everything, the practical, fireproof tents that could be combined into a single huge one by removing the partitioning walls (all made of the same tent material). The tents even had air-conditioning and good lighting though the control switches can’t be reached without a stool but I suppose that’s just to make it childproof, etc.

We had four huge tents in our enclosure, two belonging to some South-Indians who had organized a sub-group under the Al-e-Yahya Muallim and two for our Indo-Pakistani group, again, a sub-group under Al-e-Yahya.

The tents contained rows upon rows of soft mattresses, pillows and soft cloth blankets. Ours, as we discovered, were right beside the doorway flap and as such, we soon got used to people walking across our feet, or stepping on our toes. In the subsequent hours, as people settled in, fathers and mothers had their usual exchanges (‘Please get me some tea,’ or, ‘Baby isn’t going to sleep, will you have him for a while?’, or, ‘Isn’t is nice here? Where’s the bathroom? Will you get us some snacks?’, or, ‘Is it time for Fajr yet?’ and even, ‘What will we be doing next?’). You can imagine that very well. He he. Then there was also the baby who cried all night, ‘Dey Dey Ammaaaaaaaaa!’ (‘Give it to me, Mother!’ But give him what?!) Anyway, he was our alarm-clock for Fajr prayer!

We made quick trips to the bathroom areas, discovered they were quite usable and not at all the sad state we had imagined. Every enclosure (like that of our group) had it’s own bathroom area so it wasn’t that the whole of Mina stood knocking at the stalls. In fact, we were quite relieved to see that the bathroom area EXISTED. Surprisingly, women, mostly South-Indian women, were already bathing their children, washing clothes, chatting, etc.

We offered Fajr prayers, and I was very happy to hear Abba’s voice from the tent for the men – he was leading the Fajr prayers! We had a family conference of sorts outside the tents after prayers and the decision was that we’d sleep until 12 pm, then leave for Makkah on some private transport, perform the Umrahs (two actually, one normal Umrah and another for Hajj – this was in case of Hajj-e-Qiran) and return to Mina to leave for Arafat the next morning.

After a breakfast of minced meat, bread, jam and Laban, we settled down for some sleep. Again (yes, again!) sleep evaded me as I tried to avoid my toes being stepped-on, or tried to shut out the sounds of crying kids. Then there were women who took sunrise as the cue to start socializing and some actually started sharing jokes – not a good thing considering you’re in Mina to start Hajj! There was also the air-conditioning issue – Chaudhri Sahib’s family did not want it turned on while the rest of the tent dwellers did… you can imagine what went on.

On top of it all, I realized that being by the main road of Mina had it’s own problems too – huge coasters, trucks, small cars, minibuses, vans, trailers all drove past… all night, and all day, so I soon learned how it must feel to live beside a highway. Anyway, no complaints – I’m just reporting. :)

Sleep came much, much later. I was woken for Zuhr and we started preparing to leave for Makkah. Our luggage would be safe in the tent, and we set off on foot to look for some transport. It was then that we realized how many people had entered Mina in those few hours we had been in the tent. The road, which was quite vacant at night, was now buzzing with traffic. Footpaths had been made camp by those performing Hajj without a Hajj group. Whole families had set up temporary homes wherever there was no traffic, on the sidewalks, on the hillside. Some had small camping tents, others just steps up a cover over sticks and rods, or tied shade-cloths to tree branches. It was fascinating!

.: To Makkah for Umrah

The day was warm and we walked on along the road in the direction of Makkah, looking for some suitable transport. One pickup driver agreed at a rate (quite hefty, as I found out later) and we all climbed in to head for the Masjid-ul-Haram, a few kilometers away. It was then that I felt sorry I wasn’t able to bring my video camera along to Makkah! As the road wound around the mountainside, the expanse of Mina lay to the right and that was when the ‘two and a half million’ started making sense! Tents upon tents, orderly arranged, as far as the eye could see, even along the sloping sides of the mountains bordering the Mina valley! It was a beautiful sight of white, interspersed with colored flecks here and there. The sky was a clear blue, the morning bright and Mina was at it’s best. Who cared about the rest of the world?

Another thing that cannot escape notice in Mina is the network of roads and flyovers laid down, crisscrossing each other. Most are used as walkways for pilgrims to facilitate one-way movement, especially in the Rami area. Despite all such facilities, accidents still happen and as you’ve probably heard, construction of a nine-story complex at the Rami area is underway, with improved traffic regulation, helipads, elevators, escalators, air-conditioning etc. to prevent mishaps.

As we arrived in Makkah, the driver chose the underground tunnel near the Haram to drop us off. Finding parking space was not feasible and we soon found ourselves beneath the Haram area, packed with pilgrims coming from and going to the Haram. As it was the last day for pilgrims to perform Umrah and head to Mina, last-moment pilgrims had flooded the area. We took the escalators to the ground level and emerged near the Haram.

It was a hot day and squeezing through the crowds, we entered the Masjid-ul-Haram. The scene was quite different from when I had visited in the summer for Umrah. For one thing, there were lots and lots of shoes and slippers in bags or simply lying open, near the entrances of the mosque. Some workers were constantly piling them into carts to take away – there was no choice, with the number of people entering continuously, there would soon be no proper space to walk.

As I said earlier, we had to perform two Umrah. We knew it was not an easy task, taking in mind the rush and that a single Umrah itself is a bit exhaustive, with all the walking barefoot on marble. I shouldn’t complain – it’s better than walking barefoot on sand and rocks! We started Tawaf, and it took longer than the usual twenty minutes – the Tawaf area was indeed very packed but we did the Tawaf while staying on the periphery. Sometimes, I’d just be drifting along, looking at the Ka’bah, or at the sky, or at other groups of people – especially cute little kids riding on their fathers’ shoulders (as I did when I was a kid :) ).

After performing two Raka’ah Nafil of Umrah, we headed for Sa’ee. It was the Sa’ee area that was clearly packed full. We decided to take the first floor and found it much better. Still, Sa’ee took a considerable amount of time and I think it was well past Zuhr when we completed Sa’ee. Frankly, I was quite exhausted by the time Sa’ee was over. You had to be careful about so many things in crowds, like the fact that a group of pilgrims might be hurrying past, pushing others, or simply keeping track of your own family members was a job. Also, the Sa’ee area is quite long and seven trips later, you wish to rest your heels properly.

We decided to take a break and build up our strength for the next Umrah. You could say that it was a testing time for us (except my father who seemed ready to perform the next one with ease) – we had slept little and all the walking had worn us out. My sister, Abeer, three years younger, and I were hovering over the idea that we’d perform the Sa’ee of the second Umrah at the end of Hajj, along with Tawaf-e-Ziyarah and Tawaf-e-Wid’aa. It’s funny when you think back to that time – every person in Makkah was eager to get to Mina quickly, people were stocking up on energy and the cafeterias were ‘going crazy’ trying to cope up with the rush. My father got us Shawarmas and he said that the shopkeepers had run out of supplies – ours had filled the Shawarmas with whatever he had left! We had our quick meal on the bare marble floor, like so many others around us – and it felt great when a generous pilgrim came by distributing orange juice packs.

Abba and Amma build up our courage and we prepared ourselves to go for the second Umrah. However, it was plain that my sisters and I wondered how we could ever complete the Umrah being as exhausted as we were then. Allah gave us strength and as we started our Umrah after Asar, we were quite done by Maghrib time, exhausted but happy. As we waited in a ladies’ prayer enclosure for the Iqamat of Maghrib Jama’at, it felt as if each bone were creaking, each joint making it’s presence felt. I even took a few winks of sleep and had to hurry for Wudhu at a nearby Zam-Zam drink area.

Our ‘reward’ for performing both Umrahs on that hectic day, was large cups of ice cream at our favorite cafeteria on Ajyad Street, just opposite the Baab-e-Abdul Aziz (Abdul-Aziz gate). We stuffed our rumbling stomachs with large spoonfuls of creamy, frosty ice cream.

Next, it was a hunt for an economical ride back to our camp in Mina. Various 4-wheel drives and minivans owned by local Saudis were parked along the Ajyad road, with their drivers roaming around, calling out their rates loudly – ‘Mina, Mina, Ishreen riyaal!’ (Twenty riyal per head). The cheapest mode of travel was the large truck with simple grills on the back and no roof – get to Mina in five riyals and enjoy a great ride!

.: Back to Mina

We got into a minivan and as soon as it was full, we set off for Mina. There was some degree of a traffic jam on the main Mina road, passing by the palaces. It was understandable as most pilgrims were already in the valley, occupying the footpaths and roads too. Exhausted, we finally arrived in our camp, dug up the energy to offer Isha prayer, had a quick dinner of chicken curry and bread (with yogurt, of course) and lay down to sleep. It was 11 pm, and we had to leave for Arafat immediately after Fajr.

Kids in our tent were, as usual, having the time of their lives, running around even at midnight. Either that or they were wailing! We got used to that, though, as there was a long day ahead – the day of Hajj. Who knew what it had in store for us?