Growing number of pilgrims travel through Syria, Jordan to Saudi Arabia as route reopens following years of closure
AMMAN
Umrah journeys via road from Türkiye are gaining momentum after transit through Syria resumed, with more pilgrims traveling individually and in groups to the holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
The Türkiye-Syria-Jordan-Saudi Arabia land route was completely closed to transit traffic and Umrah tours in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
Overland Umrah journeys resumed after the fall of the Bashar Assad regime and the reopening of roads by Syria’s new administration.
According to Anadolu correspondents in the region, the number of people traveling from Türkiye by road for Umrah has increased significantly in recent months.
Yeryüzü Akademisi adlı çalışma grubunda Ahmet Yasir Feten’in eğitmenliğinde 8 hafta boyunca “Araplar” başlıklı eğitim aldıklarını aktaran Yarim, “İslam tarihini bütün yönleriyle ele alarak tamamladık. Ardından öğrendiklerimizi yerinde gözlemlemek ve bu coğrafyaları yakından tanımak için böyle bir saha ziyareti gerçekleştirme fırsatı bulduk.” dedi…
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Travelers using the route can also visit historical and tourist sites in Syria and Jordan as well as landmarks along the Hejaz route.
Ozlem Eginkaya, who traveled with an Umrah group from Türkiye through the Syrian capital Damascus and then Jordan, told Anadolu about her journey to the holy sites.
“Our journey began in Istanbul. From Istanbul, we traveled to Damascus, then Amman and the Hejaz Railway in Wadi Rum,” Eginkaya said.
“Following the route taken by our ancestors, we continued our journey … reaching Medina before completing it in Mecca.”
Group guide Ahmet Yasir Feten said the travelers visited historical sites in Damascus before crossing into Jordan, where they stopped at a Turkish military cemetery in Salt and followed traces of the Hejaz Railway in Aqaba and Wadi Rum.
In Saudi Arabia, the group traveled through Mada’in Salih, AlUla, Tabuk and Khaybar before reaching Medina and later Mecca.
“It took us nine days to travel from Istanbul to Mecca,” Feten said.
