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Iranian pilgrims arrive in Medina ahead of annual Hajj pilgrimage

Tuesday, 21 June 2022 4:25 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 21 June 2022 4:25 PM ]

Mahdi Abbasian

Press TV, Medina

Shedding tears of joy after years of longing for the chance to visit a land described as the land of revelation in the holy Quran! Thousands of Iranians have arrived in the city of Medina or the city of the Prophet, as it hosts the final resting place of the Prophet Muhammad.

Direct flights from Iran arrive in Saudi cities of Medina and Jeddah, and will continue until 4th July. A large number of Iranian pilgrims will first stay in Medina for six days and five nights to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and the Baqi Cemetery among other sites before leaving for Mecca to perform the annual Hajj Pilgrimage.

The outbreak of the coronavirus limited trips to Mecca and Medina for two years, with only a limited number of Saudi pilgrims being allowed to perform it over the period. Figures show some 5.8 million Iranians are on a waiting list for travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, while many of them have been waiting for as long as fifteen years.

Going around the prophet’s mosque you can see Iranians overwhelmed with emotions, most of them describing their visit to Medina as a “unique” experience.

In 2019, the last Hajj before the outbreak of the coronavirus, about 85,000 Iranian pilgrims visited Saudi Arabia, but this year, with the reduction of quotas in Islamic countries, nearly 40,000 people from Iran are allowed to participate in the annual event.

Thousands of Iranian pilgrims have arrived in Medina and many more are on their way to get to this city. This is while many more people will be waiting in Iran at least for another year so that they may get the chance to visit this holy city and the prophet’s mosque once in their life.

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