Three days until departure. Of course my sleep is askew. This would not be recommended, except for jet lag. I am not completely reversing my pattern like for Indonesia; what I have is a ten-hour time difference (Makkah is ahead by ten hours). This means getting up naturally in the early morning for fajr prayer is probably not going to happen. Especially since I want to be at the mosque ahead of the prayer proper.
I didn’t mention any of the details of this fantastic hajj package, so let’s see what the big deal is. I was not 100% convinced that all systems would be go until I had my passport in my hand and could see that visa. The rest of the contents might be described rather succinctly—except for the one thing that made my plans radically altered. The original flight itinerary, which I already had printed out, has been changed. Instead of arriving in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at around 9:30 p.m., I arrive around 7:00 p.m. The travel agent said this change was required from the Saudi end; thus my flight into Jeddah from Paris had to be changed. But in order to make this two-hour adjustment, I lost my direct flight to Paris. The difference is, instead of leaving in the evening on Sunday, my departure time is 8:45 a.m.
Not such a big deal ordinarily, but remember, I have to bathe, make my intentions, and take up ihram at some point before I arrive in Jeddah. The best times are supposed to be immediately after one of the five prayers. As it stands, in order to clear security, I leave my house for the airport in San Francisco before the time for fajr prayer is even started. This also disrupts my plans for how to get to the airport. I don’t want to leave my car there for 3 weeks. I had planned to take my bags on Saturday and leave them with a friend who lives really close to the airport. Then with a couple of daylight hours on that last day, I could make my way to her house and not have to rush to the airport.
At the moment, I’m not certain how I will get to the airport: family, friends, public transportation, or taxi. I only know I want to leave my car in my own garage. In case you’re wondering, neither my daughter who lives with me nor her husband know how to drive or have a license. The other daughter is already 40 minutes away, and that early hour presents a problem with a new baby even if they volunteer. Anyway, I’ll figure out something.
As for the other things in the package, let’s see, there was another hajj book. By that I mean, a small guidebook explaining the rituals and offering information about recommended du’a at the various sites. Some of the details here differ from ones I have already reviewed. But then, these are details; the generic are standard. For example, this one contains a lot more prayers. There goes the benefit of memorizing from one book in the first place.
This one has a different du’a for each circumambulation around the Ka’abah, and for each length of the walk between Safa and Marwa for the sa’iy. That’s nice to have, I guess. But then I can’t imagine in the rush or people moving around the Ka’abah that it would be easy to stop and read from a book. Luckily they include a short version, “if one cannot remember” these longer du’a, the book says. I’ll spend lots of waking flight time on these du’a. Even if I cannot memorize them, I can get the gist of what is said, and comes as close to it or use the “shorter” versions when I am there.
Then in the package are what I would call last-minute instruction sheets. These do not appear to be specific to this hajj; rather there seems to be some standard information with dates adjusted for this year. By that I mean it says everything according to the hijri calendar, 7th day of Zul- Hijjah we will go to Mina, etc. There is still no address for the hotels, but a local phone number. There is also information about processing customs at Jeddah, meeting the tour guide, and information that says “the group” will proceed to Makkah—which means the first will have to wait for the last person, which is the beginning of feeling like you are a group. They even include suggestions to “get to know” your fellow travelers.
I still had no idea what were the exact dates I would be in Makkah and when I would then go on to Madinah. Once the hajj is over I will be meeting local friends, and I wanted to tell them these details. There is also no map. For those who process left-brain, a visual map showing the location of the hotel relative to the Haram mosque would have been really helpful. Instead it instructs us to find a particular door out of the Haram and then turn right. Our hotel is 300 meters from there. But we already knew this from their advertisements.
If you look at the many, many photos of the haram mosque, which accommodates almost two million people, then you will see that such instructions are of limited value; because if for whatever reason you do not find that door, then you might be left to circle around the entire structure just to find your hotel, for which they suggest you take one of the hotel business cards, as if they don’t have that information. If you think I could just go online with the name of the hotel—well, I tried that. Instead I get directed to this tour company and a few others, because clearly this is part of their package.
I mean, I could be staying at the Makkah Hilton, you know. Fortunately, I am not, because the online search shows hotels that are so large, I think I would just go out of my mind for some peace. This hotel is only about 15 floors high and pretty narrow, relative to what I’ve seen. That means, I would expect, a modicum of calm in the lobby, at breakfast and dinner (which are part of the tour package). I will have to make my own arrangements for lunch. I hope my room is on one of the higher floors, less traffic, and the elevators are the same from the 4th and the 14th floors. My room is shared with two other women. I hope for camaraderie and reprieve after the arduous task of jostling with millions of enthusiastic pilgrims at the Haram.
Still, that is what this trip is for, right? That sense of awe brought about with millions of people adjusting themselves towards the same purpose, worshiping the same God in the same way and doing it altogether, at the same time. I can’t wait.
Meanwhile still a few last-minute details and mock packing before I go. Even as I plan and plan, I remember the line from the Qur’an: (hu)man plans and Allah plans; and Allah is the Best of Planners. Labayk, here I am oh Lord.
