The land of Saudi Arabia is filled with religious significance for Muslims all over the world. It is the land that saw the birth of Islam, where the first Muslims lived and fought for Islam. It is also the land of mosques established during the early Islamic era as well as the heritage of nations before Islam who left marvels, such as Madain Salih. Last year the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah started marketing these places, within its program of Summer Umrah.
ZamZam, a company that was initially concerned with hotels, is now liaising with the Hajj and Umrah ministry to handle tourism to these places as well as the Summer Umrah. The company has its own 5 star hotels and coaches. It has run this program for a full year. To-date 2000 people have been on these tours but the projected figure for this year is 5000.
The company organized two conferences in Britain (London and Birmingham) during September to advertise its program. The general director, Mr. Mazin Derar, as well as the administration manager, Mr. Ahmed Jafar Bajuaifer and the marketing manager, all spoke in the event and explained the scope of their program. The conference was organized by Universal Hajj and Umrah, which is run by Mr. Qureshi.
The program, named City Tours, aims at promoting a number of places in Saudi Arabia such as: Mecca, Madina, Taif, the location of Badr Battle, Khaiber, Madain Salih and Jeddah. The tours are mainly one or two days trips. They include visits to a number of historical and religious places, apart from Jedda, and give visitors the opportunity to visit Bani Saad where the Prophet Mohammad spent his childhood as well as the mosques of Ali Bin Abi Talib and Abdullah Bin Abbas. In Mecca it is possible to visit the Kiswah (cover cloth of Kaaba) factory, the mosques of Hodeibiah and Ashajarah and the birth place of the Prophet Mohammad. The site of the Ohud Battle is also on the itinerary in Madina and in Jeddah visitors will enjoy the Red Sea.
Mr. Bajuaifer emphasized that these places are dear to the hearts of Muslims: a photo is worth more than a thousand words. “We are not talking about tours but about Islam.- touring these places is very useful for children and there are guides who speak different languages”, he said.
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