Mecca and Maths!

Hello friends,

Went to Mecca (Makkah) today. I always go to Mecca when I make a trip back to Jeddah. I don’t remember when it was the first time I went, and I was barely three months old when I came to Jeddah.

If I can be honest, I think I loved going to Mecca when I was younger. There would be less people and the city would be free from commercialization. Mecca had that distinct character in the city that made Mecca different from other cities in the kingdom. We know that the character of the city represents the character of the people. Mecca would be warm, welcoming and a place where I would genuinely feel at peace. It’s been 28 years for me in Saudi, and I have been to Mecca so many times, I have actually lost count.

When I go to Mecca today, like tonight, I get disappointed. It is highly commercialized now. The first thing you see when you enter Mecca are the “golden arches”—McDonalds! On your way to the mosque, you see Pizza Hut, KFC and several other international chains. Surrounding the mosque itself, the older buildings are demolished and skyscrapers constructed. Intercontinental and Hilton are already there. These new skyscrapers surround the mosque. In another concentric circle, behind the existing hotels, there is a new complex being developed, which would make this area similar to any other modern city. I wonder about the middle class and lower class people who are in effect being pushed further away from the mosque, since the hotels they can afford to stay in are further away, while the rich people can afford to stay in the newer grand hotels and residential complexes being built.

While I was walking around the Ka’aba (the House covered with the black cloth) with my mom, we both heard loud noises being made by tropical birds. My first thought was: Hawaii! The noise got louder and louder of birds squawking. I turned around behind me, only to see a pilgrim fidgeting with his cell phone. I was so mad at him. Not only this, I heard so many other ring tones: baby crying, musical ones, and regular Nokia ring tone. In fact, I heard the same bird squawking ring tone when I was praying later. I don’t understand why these people don’t have the courtesy to put the phone on silent or vibration. Do you have to make sure other people know you are receiving a phone call? What could be more important to you than to be performing the ritual?

I prayed for all the things I had been meaning to: for friends and family, for personal and world situations. I also prayed for the Saudi kids who sat for the maths exam today which did not go well with anyone. The Ministry of Education came out with a more difficult Maths exam this year, and students generally found it hard: girls fainted from exhaustion and boys cried from frustration!

Mansur