A lot of the grand hotels around the Grand Mosque are like the ones in Singapore. The actual hotel and rooms would be on the upper floors and the first few floors would be the hotel’s shopping mall.
So as well as guests for the hotel going into the building, they are commonly a shopping destination for tourists and pilgrims.
My first such souk was Jumeira Jabal Omar souk. This was multiple floors with a range of shops and outlets. I didn’t really buy anything at that point beyond just looking around. Whilst there are a variety of shops around the Haram, these are geared towards pilgrims/visitors and in my opinion they all sell the same kind of things. You can go into any shop and find pretty much the same sort of things, so it’s just a question of getting the best price out of the vendors.
I decided to grab an iced latte from Starbucks as by this point I was in need of a rest and a break given the heat. And as I posted on SnapChat, I’ll repeat here – Starbucks 4 lyfe! It was really refreshing and much needed and delicious too. At 9SAR, it comes to about £2.49 so similar prices if not better value for money because of the strong exchange rate throughout my trip.
The branch was insanely busy, and I couldn’t find a seat at first. It was only when two women in veils departed that I decided to take up one of the chairs, and given by this point I had walked through rough terrain and a highly busy/crowded area I was grateful for being able to sit to have my drink rather than standing.
An elderly gentleman who I recognised spoke French quickly took up the other chair and we both sat there for about 15 minutes. The man was on his phone whilst I was just taking it all in. The scene, the noise, just the whole busyness of the area and the monumental mosque in front of me which kind of reminded me of The Colosseum in Rome. It was huge, and iconic. I’d seen pictures obviously growing up and for the first time it just dawned on me that wow I’m here, I’ve been blessed to visit God’s home.
After finishing the iced latte I decided to return to the hotel. It was 24-25 C so not overly hot but not exactly warm. Away from any shadows it is quite exhausting walking under the sun for 20 minutes or more, well for me anyway. It was now late afternoon I think and I remember earlier in the day having agreed a time with the Umrah guide to perform the Umrah at 12 midnight. So now was a time to get back to the hotel, have a rest, get dinner, and start mentally/physically preparing. I didn’t want to go back to the hotel and then be in any sort of a rush, and also I did need a bit of a rest or a small nap to be honest.
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