Syrian pilgrims use Bab Al Hawa crossing after two years of closure - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Bab Al Hawa crossing

Syrians with hajj permits are once again crossing from northern Syria into Turkey on pilgrimage to Mecca after a two-year halt.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

After two years of closure, Syrian pilgrims resume travel through Bab al-Hawa crossing

Hebaa Shehadeh

Indonesians prepare to depart from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, as part of the first batch of hajj pilgrims since before the coronavirus pandemic

Saudi receives first foreign hajj pilgrims since before pandemic

Agence France-Presse

Ghada Rifai had hoped to reunite with her son in Mecca during hajj after being kept apart for 11 years due to the war in Syria

With Saudi ties restored, Syrians fulfil hajj dreams

Agence France-Presse

Muslim worshippers performing the umrah pilgrimage walk between the Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2023.

After 9 years, first Iranian pilgrims head to Saudi Arabia for umrah

Beatrice Farhat

Beatrice Farhat

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict