Special rites of
the Hajj take place between the 8th and 13th day of the last month of
the Muslim year and so we advise booking early. Our ships ply the ports
of the Muslim world for those who must travel by sea. Once you reach Arabia,
you will join a caravan of fellow pilgrims for the journey to Mecca.
Only the faithful
may enter the holy city and participate in the many ceremonies, which
mark the Hajj. The culmination of the pilgrimage will be your visit to
the beautiful Great Mosque. Once inside, you will see the Kaaba,
where the sacred Black Stone sent from Allah to the Prophet Abraham by
the Angel Gabriel is found. This is the stone to which you turn five times
each day to pray. You will circle the Kaaba seven times, reciting verses
of the Holy Quran as you do, and touch or kiss the stone itself to complete
the ceremony. These rites commemorate the trials and sacrifices of the
Prophet Abraham; his wife, Hagar; and their son the Prophet Ishmael.
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