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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1486.PDF
162 PILGRIMS BY AIR To Mecca in the Modern Way : A Pilot's Impressions of a Specialized Type of Charter Work By Capt. R. C. O. LOVELOCK Muslim pilgrims, wearing the prescribed garment, after disembarking from a charter aircraft—an Airwork Viking—at Jidda. EVERY year the world of Islam is stirred by theimpulse of the Haji, or Pilgrimage to Mecca, whichevery good Muslim has to try to carry out once in a lifetime. In our minds the journey has usually been associated with suffering and danger; we have been influenced, perhaps, by Conrad's account in Lord Jim of the overcrowding and shameful abandonment of pilgrims aboard the S.S. Patna, or the ambush and pillage of haji caravans by tribes in the Arabian desert as experienced and related by Sir Richard Burton. It appears, however, that the credit accruing to those who take part springs mainly from their devotional exercises at the Holy Places, and is not intrinsicaUy connected with any hardship or peril endured on the route. It is, therefore, not surprising that many well-to-do Muslims of the territories more distantly situated from the Hejaz now prefer to make the pilgrimage by air and thus eliminate many of the factors which might otherwise detract from a purely religious experience. Pilgrims of all creeds and followings like to band them- selves into companies on their travels, both for mutual protection, and because a spiritual experience is intensified when those taking part are known or related to one another and united under an appointed leader. Thus it is an advantage to be able to offer a complete aircraft for the haji; but an even greater asset of the charter enterprises, with their inheritance of the free English trader's genius for adaptability, is that they are the most able and willing to suit the special air requirements of the Muslim pilgrimage. The Koranic injunctions governing the conduct of the haji are unalterable ; any compromise must be on the part of the carrier. Above all, the greatest need is to eliminate any chance of delay on the route; even the least sophisti- cated Muslim passengers, travelling in a sublime perfection of Islam or "submission to the Will of God," and having none of that premonition of disaster which is often charac- teristic of Europeans on their first flight, are inconsolable when delayed, imagining their endeavour to be the prey of every malignant interference. There is no airfield at Mecca itself, less on account of the unsuitable terrain nearby than from the need to exclude all Unbelievers from even the precincts of the Holy City. Pilgrims are required to make the last part of the journey, in a special garb, by road. They must enter the city by certain gates and before sunset. For hundreds of years the Red Sea port of Jidda has been the disembarking point for pilgrims who have come by ship and dhow. It is 45 miles from Mecca, and now a great airstrip has been built there for this new purpose. Mecca, and the other forbidden city, Medina, where the Prophet is buried, are each pro- tected from air scrutiny by a prohibited area of thirty miles radius. Tt happens, fortuitously, that the independent Muslim FLIGHT. 10 August 1950 states which insist upon being served by their own airlines are mostly situated in the Levant and those other parts of the Middle East which are closest to the Hejaz, whereas the long, worthwhile hauls are from lands under British rule or where British is still the predominant European influence. The Muslim communities in both East and West Africa are served by British lines, whilst in Pakistan, a wholly Muslim State, we are admitted to a large partici- pation in the pilgrim trade. In view of the over-riding necessity to eliminate all chances of delay, probably Pakistan, as a starting point for the air haji, has most to recommend it from the operator's point of view. The flight to Jidda from Karachi is made from east to west through thirty degrees of longitude, which results in a gain of two hours in local time. The whole geographical area through which this passage is made is held by the ^ Mohammedan faith, and thus ensures that if the passengers have to disembark they will be treated sympathetically because the purpose of their journey will be understood. At the same time it should be borne in mind that the aviation business is often in the hands of an alien race in __ these countries. On one occasion, when the writer's passengers were mostly Muslim ladies, he was offered accommodation for them in-some staff bachelor quarters —so many bodies, so many beds; perhaps it was more through bureaucratic unimaginativeness than any intention to provoke mischief. The track lies north of the ordinary limit of monsoon rains, and the demands of the schedule, to allow a convenient E.T.A. at Jidda, will admit the two natural hazards being crossed in daylight. These are the mountains in Oman, which rise to 10,000 feet, almost . out of the sea, and the desert of Central Arabia. Finally, in 1 view of the precautions which are taken against infectious diseases at Jidda it is well to be free of the complications arising through having come from the yellow-fever area. The pilgrims' requirements are simple but rigid; perhaps the greatest is for the courtesy which is traditional amongst Eastern peoples and which should surely be extended to people who are undergoing an experience to which they * have looked forward for many years. In this connection it might be added that it would be gravely misunderstood for anyone to address a Muslim woman direct, even with the most chivalrous intentions. No particular food is specified on religious grounds, but on account of the strict Moham- j, medan denunciation of all kinds of alcohol and pork, it is advisable to remove the bar stock altogether, and ensure that ham sandwiches, if carried for the crew, are not allowed anywhere near other food or drinking vessels. The most acceptable food consists of kafta, a sort of meat ball, and sticky sweetmeats with wafer biscuits. Enormous quantities of tea and soft liquids are required. The Koranic law relating to ablution has be specially
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