The hajj pilgrimage is a religious duty for all Muslims, performed in the holy city of Mecca, which, along with Medina, is part of Saudi Arabia’s Hejaz region. Rifat Sait, a Turkish parliament member from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), was among those who made this year’s pilgrimage in early October. Back home, he made intriguing comments. Sait grumbled that Saudi Arabia failed in municipal services, that Mount Arafat was filthy and that historical monuments were in a bad state. As a solution, he called for a Vatican-like administration of the Hejaz by Muslim countries during the hajj season.

“Hajj pilgrims face serious problems. Cleanness is a fundamental tenet in Islam. But Mount Arafat lacks even proper toilets. Any contagious disease there could affect all pilgrims, who, in turn, would take it to their own countries. Diseases could spread across the world,” Sait said. “Hejaz’s administration cannot be left to the Saudi state alone during the hajj season. The region should be like the Vatican. During the hajj period, it should be under the joint administration of Muslim countries, including Turkey.”

Stressing that historical monuments in the region were in danger, the lawmaker said he would convey his complaints to the Saudi Embassy in Ankara and suggested that UNESCO’s help should be sought to protect the region’s heritage.

A similar Turkish proposal had surfaced in March 2011 in a leaked US cable the daily Taraf unearthed from the WikiLeaks trove and published under the headline “Mecca can become Vatican for $10 million.”