Hajj and Umrah Tips & Tricks - Masjid al-Haram

DO NOT forget what gate you enter the Haram from and the hotel you are staying at.

REMEMBER you are there to worship. Shopping, eating, etc are all just a waste of time. Food: it will be tempting to eat all this food there, but remember this much: the more you eat, the more tired you will get and in Makkah you will NEED your energy.

Take all this advice with a grain of salt. Every situation/time is different. Most of the information here is suitable for umrah. Hajj may be a completely different experience!

TAWAF - There are large groups who perform Tawaf together and link hands. If you see them approach you, then let them pass or step aside and give them way.

Also watch out for the elderly who are being carried around the Kabah and people taking their relatives around in wheelchairs.

As a rule the nearer the Kabah you perform your Tawaf the more squashed you will get and I mean squashed. This is especially true when going around Maqam Ibrahim because of the people trying to pray.

JUMAH - Go EARLY!!!! Our first Jumah in Makkah the Adhaan was 12:05 or something and we got to Masjid Al Haram at 11am. BIG mistake. The concourse outside the Masjid was full let alone trying to get in there. We sat in the beating sun for over an hour and prayed. The next week we got there at 9 am !!!

Hajj and Umrah Tips & Tricks - Shopping

Hajj and Umrah Tips & Tricks - Shopping

Don't bring a janamaz/musalla from home. Just buy a nice one there.

You can also bring a small bag/purse you can wear under your jilbab for your money/passport. Don't bother with big handbags- you'll get searched every time you enter the haram and will have to watch it all the time.

DO NOT waste your time shopping. You're only in Makkah once in your life (anything could happen and due to life circumstances, being busy, illness etc you may never return again).

Make a list of what gifts you have to give to whom beforehand and write down what you need to buy and quantities. That way you won't waste alot of time trying to decide what to get for who.

Some common gifts include:
Dates (yes they have chocolate covered dates!!!)
Zamzam water
Hijabs & Jilbabs
Prayer Rugs (called sajadahs there)
Jewelry (gold, fake and everything in between)
Metal work (tea sets etc)
Incense Perfumes & Perfume bottles
Thobes
Kufis
Cards
Desi (IndoPak) dresses
Books
Watches



DO NOT bother going any malls. They're usually WAY too expensive, but if you want to waste your time window shopping or looking at American and European designer stuff go ahead.

A NOTE about shopping, every shop owner and I mean EVERY (even those who are very nice and islamic and kind to you) will try to get every penny (riyaal) from you if they can. For your first time out just walk around and ask for prices of different things until you get a handle of how much things go for. (Brothers please ask your mothers/wives what a good price for gold/gram is before you try to buy anything there!)

DO NOT speak English or any foreign language in stores, just urdu or arabic. . They will totally rip you off. Even if all you know is "Kam Hatha" and they know you don't speak Arabic as your native language because of your accent for some reason if you speak English they up the price 200% automatically.

Travellors from Sub-Continent, just speak plain Urdu. That will do!

You must bargain for everything you buy. Everything is marked up as par for the course. A good trick is to offer half then work your way up.
Remember to go to many stores to get an idea of price range. Sometimes they will try to bully you into buying something by grabbing it and stuffing it into a bag. Don't let them.. take your time, get what you want and check it. If you feel that the guy is ripping you off but really want/need the stuff, buy it anyway because you'll regret it after. Anything there is cheaper than anywhere here. Don't let pride stand in your way!!

DO learn all the Arabic numbers (1 to 20, and every 5 after that till a hundred and you'll be set) and phrases like that "Kam Hatha?" - How much is that?, "BiKam?" How much?, "Shuayyeh" Move over, and "Laa..." No...

Don't tell them you're from America unless you're window shopping. Don't dress expensively, shop keepers there are extremely sharp. You can even wait a few days until everyone else has found the best places to buy things cheap - find out where they are and THEN save time and just get what you want.

SISTERS be careful about going shopping alone; always go with a brother (hate to say it but you're safer from harassment) or with a group of sisters.

Beware of pickpockets. Despite the tough laws, the crowded environment of The Hajj provides easy opportunities for these criminals.

This is not a tip but a very useful suggestion, so I included it:
The Saudi authorities should encourage the setting up of hypermarkets (similar to Carrefour) in Mecca and Medina so that shoppers can buy a good part of their needs under one roof and without price haggling.

Hajj and Umrah Tips & Tricks - Money and Medicine

Hajj and Umrah Tips & Tricks
Money and Medicine



DO NOT change money before you go. There are tons of exchanges there that you can go to on the streets and you'll get a better rate than the usual bank rate too.

Bring enough cash for what you want to buy. Don't rely on using your credit card. There are finance charges of at least 2-3% and the exchange rate of Visa.

Most shops in the areas near the two Mosques do not accept credit cards. Do not arrive in The Holy Land in the hope that you can survive with your credit cards.

DO bring a lot of medicine - Tylenol, asprin, Theraflu, Tums, Pepto Bismol, Midol, Chapstick/Vaseline. Believe me you'll be glad you did and if by some miracle you don't get sick other people in your group will.

DO bring some snack food like chocolates, biscuits, dried fruit. You'll be glad when your stomach starts doing loops or you are starving in the haram. Not to mention sometimes getting stuck for hours on a bus during heavy traffic or waiting for clearance.

DO bring a cheap plastic bag/canvas bag to put your shoes and janamaz (prayer rug) and quran in when you go into the haram.