This was all written before cars, airplanes and other fancy means of travel were even thought of. The volume of people able to do it greatly increased and made more infrastructure necessary. Otherwise you'd be looking at a constant ongoing Muslim fyre festival
I've been to Saudi and talking to the guys I worked with most people didn't drink out of convenience. You can make alcohol and you can buy branded alcohol on the black market (but it's expensive and not really worth the hassle). So the only reason most Saudis don't drink is just purely because it's easier not to.
Most of them aren't super religious. There was one guy who was really serious and the rest of the guys hated him.
They'll kill and die for political and economic reasons and maybe use religion as a cover story. The "true believers" are few and far between among the upper class.
Pretty normal, even historically. The no alcohol rules are pretty flexible depending on when and where you're at, and for royalty it was more of a suggestion. No pork, though? That's generally taken very seriously.
They also apparently basically buy influencers to come and be their live sex toys for a while. Many things including poop related depravity goes on beyond closed doors there.
Oh and human trafficking.
I once read a book written in the 70s called wheeling and dealing in the Arab world, as much as many things mentioned in it have changed since then, alot has stayed the same. Especially the saudis
I don't think you are right sir, I've never heard of anyone doing this despite being Saudi myself, not all of us are oil shaiks that have absurd amounts of money, some of us are really poor especially in some areas in jazan and najran (southern parts of the nation) and you should never judge a whole nation by someone that only represents himself, in the end we are all arabs and it's really a shame that you are saying bad things about your brother's in god
He didn't say that specifically so I kinda got offended
I don't care about those weirdos that do that because as I said they only represent their selves and I'm living an average life and getting blamed for what they do is unfair
You guys can downvote as much as you want in the end I'm saying the truth and I didn't say anything that might offend someone or said anything that would get me cancelled
I'm just telling the truth and you guys hate it because you wish your countries were as rich and stable as this blessed nation
Ok I can tell by your response, you clearly don’t have common sense, people come in the millions to one spot and instead of having basic amenities like bathroom, bed, shower …you are upset because it’s a hotel that you pay to stay in 🤣 🤦🏿♂️ lawd have mercy ignorance truly is bliss
theyll use whatever weakness you have religion is one of the biggest ones. from the church till to expensive luxury meca views. if someone knows they can tug at your heart strings youll pay
everyone lives in modest housing from what I believe, I dont think those buildings are hotels but the needed infrastructure for 10s of thousands to visit
I have been in that area during busy and non-busy times of pilgrimage for the Muslims. It's pretty incredible to see a plane load of people many of them dressed simple and white robes with sandals. You are right; it's very easy for them to get in and out.
All profits from rentals in that area go to support pilgrimage and omra public services. The more profits are made= more money goes into facilitating pilgrimage and improving the overall experience
But its not. Most of the structures you see in the photo IS THE MOSQUE itself its huuuuge and beutiful and its not commercialized at all most the money from hotels is going for sustaining the mosque (its unfathomably clean and has sents of oud and misk all over)and to keep expanding the mosque and ways to ease the journey for people. The clock tower hotel wich is the biggest and one of the best has rooms that go for 150 dollars wich is extreamly cheap. So idk how you come to the conclusion that it is getting commercialized.
Doesn't matter the religion, they all are tainted by greed and love of power because man runs them. It is ironic to see the "most holy" of people and lands become the very thing they claim to be against.
What does “commercialized” mean in your mind? Having accommodations nearby doesn’t seem overly “commercialized” to me. The weather conditions there are very harsh and people of all ages are coming from all over the world to visit. Having nearby accommodations just seems humane to me.
Why do you say commercialized? Just from this photo?
Just cuz it’s big, doesn’t necessarily mean so. They need huge infrastructure to support pilgrims. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with large structures.
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u/PeterNippelstein 14d ago
Are those all hotels surrounding it? I mean they must be to continuously house tens of thousands of people ever day.