MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Despite the poor economic conditions in Egypt, some citizens go to expensive and inventive extremes to perform the fifth pillar of Islam — the pilgrimage to Mecca — with or without the proper documentation.
For this year's pilgrimage, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, Saudi Arabia granted 60,000 hajj visas to Egypt. The visas were distributed among three Egyptian ministries: Roughly 108,500 Egyptians competed for 36,000 visas allocated to the Ministry of Tourism; 50,000 competed for 12,000 visas held by the Ministry of Interior; and about 40,000 vied for 12,000 visas from the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The ministries cover the expenses of the selected pilgrims, including hotel accommodations, transportation and meals. There were also 1,000 visas issued for journalists.
