it adds to the buffets of Saudi Arabia, where the country has not yet recovered from Civil War. Saudi Arabian Government has been obliged to postpone the full transfer of administrative responsibilities from military to civil, and trains carrying pilgrims to Mecca are subjected to military restrictions. Pilgrims are herded in batches from Damascus to Medina, and from Medina to Mecca, under military guards, and until the present crisis is past they must conform to military regulations. Pilgrims are issued railway passes to facilitate their journeys, which cost nothing, and they must wear a special badge to distinguish them from ordinary travellers. They must not carry arms, and are prohibited from entering towns en route. During the return journey to Damascus, they are herded into specially reserved trucks, and are herded out again at Damascus railway station, where they disperse to their homes.
Original dispatch: Saudi Arabia: 1.5 million join Hajj pilgrimage despite war