08:05, 16 August 2018

9000 pilgrims leave for Hajj from Dagestan

About 9000 pilgrims have left for the Hajj from the Makhachkala Airport, which has organized 40 charter flights to execute the departure phase of the Hajj campaign.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that this year Dagestan was awarded with a quota of 8600 pilgrims to Mecca. By the end of March, over 4000 applications were received, the republic's authorities have reported.

The Hajj (one of the five pillars of Islam) is a pilgrimage to the sacred Muslim Mecca. It is prescribed to every Muslim, who has reached the age of majority and has opportunities, at least once in life to make the pilgrimage.

The transportation of pilgrims from Dagestan to holy Muslim places was carried out by the Saudi Arabia Airlines and FlyDubai companies. Part of the pilgrims flew to Hajj by regular flights of the FlyDubai airline, says the message posted on the website of the Makhachkala Airport.

According to the press service of the airport, annually, the Makhachkala Airport transports more than half of all Russian pilgrims.

The first flight with pilgrims from Makhachkala to Dubai, from where they then go to Medina by buses, was made on August 1. This year, a trip to Hajj costs from 2500 to 3100 US dollars, the TASS reported on August 3 with reference to the "Marva-tour", the tour operator, authorized to organize the Hajj in the republic.

The cheapest of the seven tours offered by the "Marva-tour" costs 2350 US dollars, the most expensive one is 7600 US dollars.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2018 at 08:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.