My bhai is going to Makkah for two-three days with his family and needs advice on where to stay, where is safe to stay, where to eat, what places to go there, etc (besides the obvious which is the Kaabah, etc).
If anyone has been and can give suggestions please let me know ASAP. Any guidebook suggestions would be good as well, but I would like personal accounts.
Someone told him a lot of places are not “safe” in Makkah. Which surprised him. Jazak’Allah khair.
There are lot of hotels around kaaba ..so accomodation isnt a problem and they have kfc and other fast food places near by as well. If i remember correctly there is one kfc right infront of one of the door exit from kaaba.
Re: Advice needed on Makkah
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*Originally posted by Munni: *
Someone told him a lot of places are not "safe" in Makkah. Which surprised him.
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A common misconception. Being a holy city and all may give rise to the thinking that everything's safe and dandy. It's not exactly dangerous or anything, but just like travelling to anywhere new no need to let your guard down. People wanting to cause any kind of harm are to be found everywhere, more so when tourists might be under some presumed sense of security. Quite sad to see that some would consider to get up to mischief in such a holy place.
There are quite a lot of good hotels (suting all budgets and group types) near the Ka'bah. Obviously, the nearer you get, the steeper the rate and harder the bookings. A lot of fast-food and to-go stuff, since the priority of the majority is ibadah.
bon voyage. :)
If anyone could give me specific names of hotels, etc, that would be great. My bhai has no idea and doesnt like asking around, so its left to me.
You have got some useful advice already. Diablo is accurate regarding the steeper prices in terms of proximity to the Kaabah. i am not certain about budget issues etc., but try this thread (sorry, not certain if you have already tried it out): http://www.worldtraveldeals.com/SA/Makkah+Hotels
i will post some more stuff if i find something useful Insha’Allah.
how much does he want to spend? the prices will vary quite a bit.
I just talked to a pal of mine in Jeddah and he recommended Intercontinental, there are 2 interncontinentals, teh dar-l-tauhid intercontinental is right across from Haram Sharif. the other one is far, 7 km away, is usually a little cheaper and has shuttle service to Haram Sharif.
he stayed at Sheraton himself since it was cheaper but Paid around 65- riyals/night which was a good deal. Sheraton is also right across teh street.
Makkah Hilton is also right across the street and will be more expensive than sheraton. another hotel right by is Hotel Umm Al Qura which is going to be in the same price range as the Hilton. both are 5 star hotels.
Hope this helps. as far as safety goes. the city although not a 100% safe is still much safer than most cities and the biggest problem he may face is pickpockets.
One major problem could be getting lost because the you can't explain the right way to the taxi driver if he's a Saudi. Bengali and Pakistani taxi drivers exist too but they not very common. So ask your bro to know the name of the place he's staying at, one or two arabic words would help in explaining the way.
And The place is safe in every way , even in Hajj days so I don't know where that came from. You need not worry.
As Such there is no problem for hotels in Makkah your wil find 3 Start to Five Star hotel in Makkah..
Haram is the word using there for Mosque haram and Kaa'baa
In from of Bab(gate) Fahad and Bab-e Aziz there are many FIve Star hotel..
and many 3 Star hotel on Tareeq Khaleel -ullah
KFC is also in front of bab-e Abdul aziz..
There are some Pakistani hotels also in front of Babe Safa also..
It will be good for him to Stay near haram ,so no need to be lost anywhere..
Fix some Specific place( Some gate) if some one lost to reach there..
you can ask anyone where is which gate,In haram there are many many Pakistanies
There is one Lost and FOund center Near Babe Ali ..
Dont Take your wallet when ur performing Umrah..belive me there are many pocket pickers in Haram..
jes take some money/ATM card ,Passport copy in the Ahraam belt and Take care of those things..put other stuff in hotel room..
It is not rush season there but your brother has to take care of your family when performing Umrah ..
If he has kids ask him dont go close to Kaa'ba in rush time ..there are less rush there in late Night time and after Fajr Prays..
Regarding the ziyarat holy places ,anybody can find taxis from SAPTCO Bus stop to go anywhere..There are many Taxi Driver shouting ZIYARAT ZIYARat ..
SAPTCO Bus Stop is also near KFC..
The safest place to be on Earth & da closest u can get 2 ALLAH. There r lots of entrances & exits. Dont be confused or afraid, if u r da adventurous type like me, u will love da place. There r underground ablution areas & toilets, & they r all situated outside da Har'am shareeif. So be prepared at least half an hour be4 any prayer. The queues r quite long & it is usually a 15 min walk 2 any point from da ablution areas, Xcept if u r praying outside. 4 Friday prayers leave home or hotel at least 2-4 hours be4 Khutbah begins, becoz of space constraints.
In da end be a good Muslim, no matter what hardships u face....U will be pushed around, u might get lost, but remember ur in ALLAH's house, & feel free 2 ask Him anything....Hajj or Umrah is never easy, if they were easy ppl would 4get da true meaning of Hajj - sacrifices our elders made 2 spread Islam.
Situation has improved a lot in terms of places to stay.
Depends on individual - there are 5 * hotels with exits placed right on the edge of the Sehn-e-KaaB'aa - AND they SKIN U ALIVE in terms of room rates.
I go for the hotels that are not so expensive ( doesnt make much sense throwing away a grand, per day - when u only go to the hotel to sleep for a few hours - they say the upper rooms have a direct view of the Kaabaa - NOW WHO would want to sit in the window and look at Kaa'Baa from his room - when he can simply walk a few steps and enter the Haram Shareef itself ) .
These other hotels are by no means lacking in anything , regarding cleanliness or services or location ( u always want to be at just 5 or 10 minutes walking distance from the KaaBaa )
My recommendation will be the MakkaH SenaBeL - located about a 100 yards from the SAPTCO bus terminal. It cost me 150 Riyals a day for a nice furnished family room (off season rates) - they also have a rent-a-car service where u can hire a car to visit places near and around Mecca.
Other good choice is the Dar ul Bilal - located near the BaaB us SafaaH - it has neat rooms with a small kitchen and some basic crockery and cooking utensils ( if there are small kids with you then you do need a kitchen at all the odd hours ).
anyway - the best thing to do is to forget about all these problems - there is nothing to worry about - tell your brother to go to Mecca - Mecca will take good care of him.
May we all have the honour of visiting the Haram e Kaaba as often as we can - Ameen
Munni ...:)
i think u have enough replies ...i don't have anything new to add ...!!
but ask ur brother not to be afraid in terms of safety etc ....!
we went there for umrah , last year ,...everything was arranged by our travel agent ...n we were told that our booking is for four star hotels ....we were a bit disappointed to see what he described 4 star ...but later we just ignored this bit n we discovered that we spent less than 14 hours (in three days) in hotel room .....n it was just a place for our baggage .....n nothing more :)
n i never heard its not safe or so ....
as for food ....no need to worry about that ....ur brother will find a lot of places around haram shareef ...:)
n there r a lot of ppl from india or pakistan ....so language is not a big problem ....infact all important notices or information is written in urdu , too ...:)
hope he will have a great time there ....
n hopefully InshaAllah in july /august i'll be there again :)
http://[thumb=B]Makkah%20Hotels%20124.JPG[/thumb]
http://[thumb=B]Makkah%20Hotels%20152.JPG[/thumb]
http://www.siforonline.com/hotels/saudi_arabia.htm
http://asiatravel.com/saudi/makka/hilton/
http://www.fastnet.com.au/htlindex/sa.htm
http://www.bestlodging.com/sites3/38600/index.shtml
Those are fortunate souls, those who avail the opportunity, becoming pilgrims to Holy Kabba,
Congratulations! It’s not us who decides, Is Almighty Allah, who invites his favorites souls by rewarding them with their deeds.
There are many around us with wealth, they can avail opportunity, but they never accomplishes or achieve it, Pilgrimage to Baitullah.
Here are some of my previously visited hotel contact list, which may helpful, but in respect need to understand situations and occasions like Ramzan and Hajj, occupancy and prices may vary.
Browsing these active URL links I have found couple of other Hotels, where I had frequent stopovers. Hope it helps you out.
After glancing some above posts, I would sincerely admit that most of the mentioned suggestions and experiences are realistic. Way they have enlighten requirements and necessities, shows an immense dedicated observation of participants, no doubt, truly they have drawn real schematic sketch of Harams surrounding.
I wish you have participated with your family too, and if you do get a chance, don’t forget praying for Muslim Umah, remember us too in your prayers.
Because you never know " Kis Ki Dua Kab Kabool Hojae"
Regards
YKKB
Thank you all for the information. Jazak'Allah khairum.
I will be sure to pass along the information to my brother today, insha'Allah.
Very useful info. Much appreciated. smile
Oh, and I will ask him to pray for you all while he is performing Umrah, insha'Allah.
Thanks again.
Since Hajj, is around the corner, I thought of bringing this back up. The links provided by ykkb are Xcellent.