This month of Ramadan also marks the period of Umrah, the “little pilgrimage” to Mecca. He was interrupted last year at the same time due to the health crisis. For this recovery, Saudi Arabia has taken drastic restrictive measures. Among other things, the obligation to be vaccinated. In Dakar, pilgrims and tour operators organize.
The vaccination card in your pocket, this pilgrim – who wishes to remain anonymous – is ready to leave. Ordinary at Mecca, he had to give up his journey in 2020. “Very impatient to find the holy places of Islam,” he says. I took my vaccine 4 days ago. That’s a good thing, because it’s a gathering place, it’s still good that everyone’s protected, that everyone’s immune. “
Like the other pilgrims, he must isolate himself for 72 hours upon arrival. He spent almost 5000 euros for a 15-day stay. To respect the rules for distance, the number of people in the hotels is limited.
Mamadou Lamine Signaté is a travel agency. He leaves personally and professionally at the end of the month: “I received two withdrawals last week because of the vaccine. On the other hand, we used to take three or four people to the rooms. All this customer base will certainly not be able to go there. “
An age limit
But this year there is another limit, and in size it is the age limit. Houreye Thiam, from the National Group of Private Operators in Hajj and Umrah: “The biggest handicap we have is in relation to age, because for Umrah the maximum age is 50 years while we have a strong demand from people over 50 years.”
For the Hajj or the great pilgrimage planned for the month of July, pilgrims and operators are still waiting for details of the restrictive measures.
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