We landed in Jeddah and then we were transported to the terminal in a huge double wide bus. As we road to the terminal, the view was very similar to America. Subhana-Allah, it looked just like America. The first thing I noticed was Chevy cars and broncos everywhere, Subhana-Allah!!!
After the bus arrived at the terminal we all got out and walked inside. Upon arrival, the officials gave us some books about Hajj (in Urdu) and then separated the men from the women in a big room. We waited with our passports until a Saudi brother put UPC stickers throughout the passports.
After receiving the stickers we then waited to pass through immigration. The niqaabi sisters (that included me) had to go to a separate room where Saudi women were waiting to check our faces with our passports. After having our faces checked we again got back in line for immigration.
Immigration went smoothly for me and Hafsah because we had US passports. The Pakistani men and women didn't have such an easy time, simply because they were Pakistani. Subhana-Allah right from the beginning of the Hajj experience everything is based on nationality.
After immigration, I met my husband in the baggage area. We retreived our luggage and passed easily through customs with minimal luggage check, Alhamdulillah.
After customs, we again waited in line for our passports to be cleared with our office number. The offices are by nationality once again. My husband's office was the same as mine and Hafsah's because he is our mahram and must stay with us. Also, he is in our same office number because our group (that we are suppose to catch up with) is originally from the US.
It is Asr time now, we are combining Thuhr with Asr first chance we get, Insha-Allah. We were suppose to go straight to Madinah, but we found out after our arrival into Jeddah that yesterday (Tuesday) was the last day to fly from Jeddah to Medinah (Saudi rule). The airport is nearly deserted because today is the last day to enter Jeddah for performing Hajj (Saudi rule).
Since we have not assumed Ihram yet and we have passed the miqat, we have to assume Ihram in the airport. We are sad about the false information we received in Lahore about our travel to Madinah. The officials pulled my husband back and forth around the airport trying to figure out what to do with us because our US group is not with us and we can't go to Madinah as planned.
While the officials were sorting out our business, we made wudu and assumed Ihram. The woman's restroom was well equipped with wudu stations, showers, Saudi toilets as well as American toilets. The Saudi toilets are just like the ones in Pakistan, with the hole in the ground where you squat to relieve yourself. In practice for Hajj, I performed wudu with Hafsah attached to the front of me. I was relieved that this process wasn't so difficult, Alhamdulillah.
My husband prayed in one of the airport prayer areas. I prayed off to the side behind a pillar because the prayer areas are only for men. There are prayer areas everywhere in the airport, Masha-Allah.
After prayer, we were told to catch a bus to Makkah. First my husband went with a Saudi brother to quickly get us something to eat and drink. I told him I am in the land of the Arabs so I want a fatoush (bread salad). He came back with falafels and some juice saying there wasn't any fatoush, not even a plain salad, Masha-Allah. I am a major salad eater. You can call me a rabbit, I eat so much salad, Masha-Allah.
We followed the Saudi brother to the bus station and were seated in the front of the bus. We sat on the bus and watched the officials separate all the passports by nationality. As we waited on the bus for the passports to be separated, we received a talk about bid'ahs in Hajj and what your suppose to do and not suppose to do during Hajj. One brother talked in Arabic and another brother translated the talk into Urdu. Since we arrived from Pakistan we were on a bus with the Pakistani people and that is why the talk was translated into Urdu, Masha-Allah.
Finally, the passports were put into a big bag and locked in a safe on the bus. Shortly after the athan for Maghrib, we set off for Makkah. About halfway to Makkah we stopped at a bus stop area so those who wanted to combine Maghrib and Isha immediately could do so. We passed a McDonald's at this bus stop area. My husband and I decided to wait until we got to Makkah to combine Maghrib and Isha inside the Haram, Insha-Allah. There's no better place in this world to pray Maghrib and Isha!
On the way to Makkah the Saudi police stopped the bus. At this check point, the police were looking for anyone with an Afghani passport. They went through all the passports. The bus driver told them that all the passports were Paki. All passports were Pakistani except mine and Hafsah's.
As we drove on the highway we passed a huge arch that was built over the highway. It held a huge Quran over the top of it. The Muslims were to go straight and the non-Muslims were to exit to the right. The bus went straight and we drove to the welcome center where they gave us bottles of Zum Zum water and a bag of treats while our passports were cleared with our office numbers.
After the passports were cleared once again, we set out for Makkah. On the way to Makkah we again stopped. This time it was in front of an office number labeled for Americans. My family and I were taken off the bus and asked to identify our luggage on top of the bus. It took quite sometime to locate our luggage, Masha-Allah. We weren't quite sure what they were going to do with us next. We just wanted to get to Makkah, not to mention the fatigue from our long journey.
After our luggage was retrieved, we sat in a car and the driver drove us to Makkah. As we drove over a hill towards Makkah we BRIEFLY got to see the pillars from al-Masjid al-Haram. We were so excite and instantly got a burst of energy.