The Huge Jamrah at Mina
My uncle and my sister were two of a number of Bruneians who performed the haj and came back last month. What surprised me is the number of photographs that they were able to take almost anywhere even including at the Masjidil Haram. I remembered when I went for my haj in the late 1990s, my wife and I could not even bring a camera into the masjidil haram area. Our photos are limited to outside the mosque and areas outside. Even then we were very cautious, as we have been warned that it might be confiscated if the police saw you.
What really struck me is the ease that today's pilgrims in stoning the devil in Mina. The Jamrah which used to be like this in the 1950s:-
had become this huge wall like this by 2006:-
which is almost impossible to miss!
My sister says with the scheduling in place, pilgrims do not have to rush anymore. So they are even able to pose in front of the jamrah while other people are still stoning them. Do that 10 years ago, you probably end up in the hospital or worse. I looked at their facilities and I have to admit that our government and the Saudi government have indeed spent a lot of money improving today's haj pilgrims.
What really struck me is the ease that today's pilgrims in stoning the devil in Mina. The Jamrah which used to be like this in the 1950s:-
had become this huge wall like this by 2006:-
which is almost impossible to miss!
My sister says with the scheduling in place, pilgrims do not have to rush anymore. So they are even able to pose in front of the jamrah while other people are still stoning them. Do that 10 years ago, you probably end up in the hospital or worse. I looked at their facilities and I have to admit that our government and the Saudi government have indeed spent a lot of money improving today's haj pilgrims.
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