DUSHANBE, November 19, 2012, Asia-Plus — The last group of Tajik Hajj pilgrims returned home on November 18.
Mahmadyusuf Shodiyev, a spokesman for Dushanbe International Airport, says that to carry Tajik pilgrims to Saudi Arabia Tajik national air carrier, Tajik AIR, and Tajik private air company, Somon Air, have operated twenty-nine flights from Dushanbe to Jeddah.
Saudi officials allocated Tajikistan 6,000 places for this year”s Hajj. In 2011, the price to go on the Hajj was 3,448 U.S. dollars, but it has risen this year to 3,546 U.S. dollars.
The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year.
The BBC reported on October 25 that the millions who come to Mecca every year bring billions of dollars to the Saudi economy. Restaurants, travel agents, airlines and mobile phone companies all earn big bucks during the Hajj, and the government benefits in the form of taxes.
The BBC noted that according to the Chamber of Commerce in Mecca, last year, the 10-day event generated some 10 billion U.S. dollars.
The private sector also maximizes its returns during Hajj, with investment in real estate an attractive proposition ahead of the pilgrimage, according to the BBC. The highest rents in Saudi Arabia are found in the holy city of Mecca, the birthplace of Islam. Owners of hotels close to the main mosque reportedly ask for $700 a night, blaming the skyrocketing prices of land for the sharp rise in rates.
