After a 12-year hiatus, Syrians’ Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy towns of Madinah and Makkah in Saudi Arabia will return in 2024, according to Syria’s head of Hajj affairs.
The pro-government al-Watan newspaper reported Hassan Nasrallah as saying that there will be no Hajj trip for Syrians this year because relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia have just recently been repaired and Hajj procedures require time and coordination.
Syrian pilgrims who wanted to undertake Hajj during the years when Syria-Saudi relations were strained had to seek visas from neighboring nations.
Syria and Saudi Arabia agreed in April to resume consular services, and full diplomatic relations were restored this month.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia this week for the first time in 12 years, ushering Syria back into the Arab fold after years of isolation.
