The journey to Makkah

Part 1 will cover a couple of hand luggage tips and answer some questions about what the facilities of hajj are like.

Technically a woman’s ihram is wearing whatever she normally wears (within the realms of acceptable hijab). So some women wear a regular abaya and scarf. Some opted for head to toe white. One lady I saw in Egypt looked like she was getting married – she looked gorgeous – mashAllah. I couldn’t say the same for myself – I was in a plain abaya and long khimar and crumpled by travel!

The men’s ihram is 2 pieces of cloth, white with no stitching. No stitching is allowed for men at all including footwear. Plastic flip flops and crocs are in abundance! The clothing is meant to make men equal. We are all hujjaj whether you are a prince or a pauper. However, the quality of the ihram differs. Some are patterned and some have poppers (permissible) which I guess avoids the scary chance of falling off or flapping open! No stitching = no underwear!

Hand luggage tips

When travelling – specifically to Hajj I would recommend taking the following items in your hand luggage.

Travel pillow – sleep needs to be taken on an as and when basis. The pillow will help you achieve this. Mine made me very comfy draping myself over my suitcase in Cairo!
A small towel and bar of unscented soap – in my case I spent days getting to my destination in hot conditions. Taking a shower can really make you feel fresh and human again. Soap has to be unscented to meet the conditions of ihram.
Fresh underwear – again this will make you feel better once you have had a shower.
Ihram for men and for women – I would say take a spare outfit such as leggings and vest top for under your abaya.
Wudu bottle (or a normal bottle that you use for wudu)
Sabr!!! Hajj is a test and as I and my travelling companions found the test starts as soon as you leave your front door! You need patience. I surprised myself by having so much more patience than I usually do. You have to really go with the flow.

Hajj facilities

A lot of people have asked the same questions, and indeed I asked the same myself before setting off to Hajj.

What are the toilets like?
Where do you wash?
Is it clean?
Is it true there are no toilets in Muzdalifah?

First of all, I have to point out I am familiar with the state of toilets abroad. Not everyone is – I remember some tourists in Egypt being horrified by the ‘hole in floor’ toilets – despite them being absolutely clean and well looked after. I found that funny. If you are like those tourists then prepare yourself 😉

If like me, you have a general expectation then you will be pleasantly surprised to know it’s really not that bad.

What are the toilets like?

Well in Makkah they vary. Generally, you are going to be using public toilets. There are quite a few (thankfully) mostly located underground. The ones on the mall are European standard in design and cleanliness. The public toilets – are fine….depending what day you are using them!

The first time I used them was the night before Mina. The toilets are a hole in the floor. You will learn to love these – or appreciate them. I have always preferred them when abroad. They are convenient, you don’t have to touch anything and are easier to clean for the cleaners. It’s quite common for people to bang on the door. I was annoyed by that at first and then I soon became a door banger! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow!

The public toilets also double as showers. This is where queuing for the toilet becomes totally part and parcel of hajj.

Where do you wash?

Showers are combined with the loo. Again something that did not shock me. It’s quite common in the Mediterranean, North Africa etc to have a shower hose in the same place as your toilet. Logistically there is nowhere else to put the showers. It’s 5 days – and boiling hot, you will shower whatever you may think! I did think I would avoid showering in Mina. But the heat makes you sweat and I also had a fever for 2 days in Mina – feeling clean becomes worth waiting for.

The shower heads/hoses end up breaking very soon. The sheer amount of people leads to breakages. You end up using the hose to clean your bits. Let me tell you whatever standards you have before you go to Hajj they go…..totally go! I have to confess here that I used the men’s toilets to wash in. A few people were shocked by this and some conceded it was a fantastic idea. Men’s facilities doubled the amount of women’s in our camp. That again is down to logistics. Women can’t travel without maharam and men can travel to Hajj alone. Ladies – we are outnumbered!

Is it clean?

Logistics – that’s all I can say. Whenever something grinds you down on Hajj just think logistically and you realise why things are the way they are. People come from all over the world – we all have our own ways, and then there is simply the sheer VOLUME of people. You will never see so many people in your life.

My first night in Makkah was fine. Toilets were clean etc. Mina was where it went downhill. Women are not as clean as men. I am half tempted to hold back – but quite frankly if you have been reading this or know me personally then you know I tell it as it is. Women leave more ‘waste’ products. Washing etc in these conditions is a bit off. This is why I started using the men’s toilets. The men’s had none of this ‘litter’. Thankfully after a day at Arafat, the litter was cleared. But still – I preferred the men’s toilets for showering in.

On Eid day when everyone back home is chilling, celebrating etc we are doing the toughest day of Hajj which releases us from ihram. I have never wanted a wash so much in my life. I have never stank so much in my life either but everyone else is in the same boat – you can only smell yourself which is a mercy in itself I guess.

There are Hajjis who don’t have Mina or Makkah accommodation – they HAVE to shower in the public toilets. Because everyone was showering you had to wait aaaaaaages. Patience is a virtue on Hajj and boy do you learn it. One lady decided to make her shower in the ablution area. SubhanAllah. But you know what? You become very understanding. I felt sorry for her, if I felt stinky but not enough to do what she did – imagine how she felt. Who knows what happened. Accidents do happen on Hajj…..

The underground passageway to the toilets becomes a beauty parlour/laundrette. Because men do not pass the stairs, women unveil and make themselves at home. This was on Eid day though. Many wash their clothes, hair is washed and some women make a bit of a ‘day’ of it. Settling on blankets, hanging dresses, scarves and abayas along the corridor.

Is it true there are no toilets in Muzdalifah?

This is a funny one. My personal experience was that yes there were toilets in Muzdalifah but it all depends upon where you are sleeping. My friend’s husband warned us there would be none and that terrified me (I have a pea sized bladder). I have since heard there were none in certain parts of Muzadalifah.

We were lucky with where we were situated. Again bear in mind the whole fajr time craziness. We went an hour beforehand before the queues became 20 deep. No joke.

My advice for Muzdalifah is that it’s only a few hours. It’s not too bad. I would say it’s the need to make wudhu that’s an issue.

Wudhu

Major factor ladies (and gents if there are any reading) is the wudhu factor.

There are simply not enough taps for wudhu….LOGISTICS!

A lot of people made wudhu within the toilet cubicle. Personally, I didn’t like this. The toilets were not clean enough. At home would you make wudhu on top of your toilet?

I was gifted a wudhu water bottle. However, you can use a regular water bottle, or even a spray bottle (even better as it distributes water evenly). A lot of women were surprised to see me make my wudhu over the drains. I like to think they appreciated the fact I didn’t hog the toilet to do it perhaps.

At Muzdalifah it becomes even more imperative to use a bottle. The queues for toilets and taps are 20 deep. I felt it far easier to use my bottle than fight my way to the taps 5 times a day.

It’s all down to the preparation and keeping your expectations realistic.

Rosheen James

A Practical Guide for Hajj (Part 2)

A Practical Guide for Hajj (Part 1)