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ARBIL, Iraq,-This year, for the first time,
Muslim pilgrims have been boarding flights in the
Kurdish north of Iraq and flying directly to the haj
in Mecca.
For decades under Saddam Hussein, Kurds feared the
overland journey through Iraq to the holy city in
Saudi Arabia and were forced to make an arduous trip
of several days through Iran.
But this month they have been able to fly to Mecca
directly from Arbil International Airport, in the
heart of their Kurdish homeland.
"I still don't believe it," said Abdulrazak Taher
Ahmed, a 44-year-old Kurd who guided 50 pilgrims to
Mecca. "It's like magic that we can ride the jets
from our home."
Hundreds of pilgrims clad in white robes festooned
with Kurdish flags swarmed around the airport's new
lounge, still under construction, during the flights
this month.
Several came to Ahmed to express their worries about
the journey. Many have never been on a plane and do
not speak Arabic.
Pilgrims shed their civilian clothes and shoes,
putting them away in makeshift carry-on luggage,
changing into sandals, and white robes held together
with pins and belts.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Aisha Rashid, 80, sat in a wheelchair in the lounge,
clutching a walking cane with her tattooed fingers.
Accompanied by her son and daughter-in-law, she was
making the journey for the first time.
"In Saddam's times, it was difficult because the
process of travelling was difficult," she said. "If
this were not Kurdistan I would not be able to fly
from my country."
The pilgrimage to Mecca -- a once-in-a-lifetime
requirement for all Muslims able to make it -- was
next to impossible for most Kurds during Saddam
Hussein's rule.
Even after 1991, when Kurdistan became an autonomous
zone under U.S. protection, it was a difficult trip.
Travel documents were issued in Mosul, in a
neighbouring non-Kurdish Iraqi governorate where
many Kurds felt unsafe under the scrutiny of Iraqi
intelligence.
Only around 2,000 Kurds made the long overland
journey through Iran each year -- less than half the
number who flew to Mecca from Arbil this year.
"There is no comparison between the way through Iran
and now from Kurdistan," said Adnan Alnakshbandi,
Kurdish minister of religious affairs.
The trip from Arbil this year costs around $600 all-
inclusive -- with much of the food, accommodation
and transport costs paid for by the Kurdish regional
government.
Pilgrims came from distant corners of Kurdistan and
convened, over a two-week period, in one of Arbil's
largest mosques in preparation for the trip.
The mosque's entrance was crammed with security
guards toting AK-47s, alert for any signs of
trouble.
Several hundred pairs of shoes were strewn at the
mosque doors or neatly stacked in cubbyholes. The
main hall was covered in carpets and peppered with
huddles of people gathering around bags, blankets
and kerosene heaters.
Some 30,000 Muslims applied to travel to Mecca from
Arbil and a lottery was announced to decide who
would go -- a system which prompted allegations of
favouritism.
"If you have high authority maybe some people they
push you and put you on the list. Same as before
(under Saddam)," said one airline official, who
declined to be named.
Nearly a million Muslims perform the haj from across
the world each year.
While most of the 27,000 Iraqi pilgrims making the
journey this year travelled overland, thousands also
flew from Baghdad and Basra airports. (Agencies)
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