As we started the last tawaf or rotation my guide started to walk and guide me outerwards away from the ka’bah. It became a lot calmer and easier to walk with a lot more space. As we finished the last rotation, I was walking in a much calmer environment with a lot more room and I felt I could now breathe more calmly.
I think I may have preferred to do more of the rotations in this area. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have gone closer to the Ka’bah – I’m glad I did. But perhaps get as close as possible, try to touch the Ka’bah and the black stone but instead of staying inwards, just start to move back to give yourself more room and give others the chance to do the same.
The only inconvenient part of the tawaf was my money belt which had become really loose. This meant I had to use my left hand to basically hold and carry it throughout so it didn’t fall. This was despite my guide manually tying a knot to reduce the belt’s length but this wasn’t adequate enough.
We exited the courtyard of the Ka’bah. Our next act was Sa’i – the ritualistic act of moving 7 times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwa. This is still inside the mosque between the two hills, not in outside terrain. So you will still be walking on a marble floor on a smooth surface. There’s no uphill climb or walk.
The distance between the two end points or the actual hills is approximately 450 meters. It’s an oval anti clockwise journey where men are recommended to jog if they can do so safely without causing themselves any difficulty. Women can walk. In the centre of the oval or ring, there are water taps as well as some bins, but also a section reserved for wheelchair users like the elderly.
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