Hajj in old Kuwait

24October 2012

by Tazmania

Myself and some friends were talking about Hajj (pilgrimage) today, particularly on how old Kuwaitis used to travel across the scourging desert to reach Macca to perform the Rites. Unlike today, journey to Hajj used to be long and reall hard as there were no planes or even vehicles, only camels were there and those who leave for Hajj may not ever return. I read that the first Kuwaiti Hajj campaign is dated back to year 1800 and was organized by Fahad Bin Rashed Al Duwaila, I suspect the journey itself took longer than a month.

I read that Kuwaitis begun to use vehicles in their journey to Hajj in late 40′s and early 50′s when campaign cost was between KD20-25 and consisted of 500 pilgrims roughly. I was looking for rare pictures for the old Hajj campaigns but was only able to find a handful of them. I heard there’s a history book about Hajj campaigns in old Kuwait called “Kuwaiti Hajj Campaigns Through History” but I’m not sure where to find it.

I can only imagine the tremendous efforts, not only during the long Hajj journey but all the food and water scarcity, also there were only tents so no luxury hotels or cooling A/C’s.