Number of Turks to Perform Umrah On Rise in 2011
Muslims who fail to join the hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, usually prefer to perfom the umrah, which can be taken at any time of the year, officials say.Turkish umrah applications have exceeded 370,000 this year, representing a great increase compared to previous years, according to official figures.
The number of people who want to make an umrah journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has increased 70 times over the last 10 years.
Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca, performed by Muslims, which can be taken at any time of the year unlike the Hajj, which is on a certain date.
There is a serious increase in the number of people journeying to the holy land Mecca for Hajj and umrah, thanks to an increase in incomes, easy access to religious knowledge and Internet usage, according to Ergün Yücel, deputy director general at the Directorate of Religious Affairs Pilgrimage and Umrah Services.
A total of 963,868 people applied to go on the pilgrimage, adding that 329,313 of them are new applications and 634,555 are re-registrations, he said.
Turkey’s Hajj quota given by the Saudi Arabia is 74,000, Yücel said. “As the Directorate of Religious Affairs, we want to be able to take everyone who applies for a pilgrimage to Mecca, but we are limited by quotas.” Yücel said they apply to obtain higher quotas each year. “But this is not sufficient to meet the accumulated demand,” he said. “We requested 40,000 additional spots for the Hajj this year,” Yücel said. “We expect at least 20,000 additional spots.”
35,000 in one day
Turkish umrah applications, which were around 5,000 during the 2000s, have exceeded 370,000 this year with the applications to the directorate and to other private travel agencies, Yücel said. They had begun to receive umrah applications in January, when 35,000 people applied on the first day of application, he said.
Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs was awarded by the Saudi Arabian government and serves as an example organization, also another cause for increasing umrah demand, Yücel said.
July 13, 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
