Wat er het hele jaar speelt in Mekka, Saoedi-Arabië

Druk — schoolvakanties in 6 van de markten die de plek vullen, een van de beste maanden qua weer

• Regel

  Entry restricted to Muslims

  1 jan – 31 decSluitingen

  The city is closed to non-Muslims year round, and the checkpoints on the approach roads enforce it. Everything below assumes you are travelling for Umrah or Hajj, which is the only reason anyone comes. Bron ↗

• Feestdag

  Ramadan Umrah season

  18 feb – 19 mrtRamadan & SuikerfeestDrukBoek vroeg

  The busiest month of the year at the Grand Mosque outside Hajj itself. Permits are issued through the official app and rooms within walking distance of the Haram are booked out months ahead at multiples of the usual rate. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: The quiet Umrah months (15 okt – 10 feb (meestal)), Winter flash floods (1 nov – 31 jan (meestal))

Druk — Ramadan Umrah season, schoolvakanties in 2 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Feestdag

  The last ten nights

  10–19 mrtRamadan & SuikerfeestDrukBoek vroegRisico

  The final third of Ramadan, when pilgrims come looking for Laylat al-Qadr and the mataf fills to capacity. Permit slots vanish within minutes of release and the authorities cap repeat Umrah to one per pilgrim. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Ramadan Umrah season (18 feb – 19 mrt), The quiet Umrah months (15 okt – 10 feb (meestal))

Topdrukte — Ramadan Umrah season, The last ten nights

• Feestdag

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 mrtRamadan & SuikerfeestDruk

  The Eid prayer at the Haram, then a sharp drop as the Ramadan crowd flies home over the following week. The days immediately after are among the quietest of the year in the mosque. Bron ↗

• Regel

  Umrah season closes before Hajj

  15 mrt – 15 mei · meestalSluitingen

  Umrah visas stop being issued some weeks before Hajj and holders must leave the kingdom by an announced date, so the mosque empties out ahead of the pilgrimage. The cut-off is published each year and moves with the lunar calendar. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Ramadan Umrah season (18 feb – 19 mrt), The last ten nights (10–19 mrt)

Druk — Hajj, schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Feestdag

  Hajj

  20 apr – 20 jun · meestalBedevaartseizoenDrukSluitingenBoek vroegRisico

  Five days that move the whole city: Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, then the return. Numbers are capped by country quota, the roads into Mecca close to everyone else, and the heat during a summer Hajj is the main risk. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Eid al-Fitr (20–23 mrt), Umrah season closes before Hajj (15 mrt – 15 mei (meestal))

Topdrukte — Hajj, Eid al-Adha

• Feestdag

  Eid al-Adha

  27–30 meiRamadan & SuikerfeestDrukSluitingen

  The pilgrimage ends at Eid and the kingdom takes several days off with it. Everything in Mecca is running at capacity, and the exit flights out of Jeddah are the tightest of the year. Bron ↗

• Seizoen

  Summer heat in the valley

  15 mei – 15 sepExtreme hitte

  The city sits in a bare rock valley with nothing to soften the afternoon. Marble courtyards are cooled and misted, but the walk between the mosque and the hotels is the part that catches people out.

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Umrah season closes before Hajj (15 mrt – 15 mei (meestal)), Hajj (20 apr – 20 jun (meestal))

Topdrukte — Hajj, Saudi summer holidays

• Feestdag

  Saudi summer holidays

  15 jun – 31 aug · meestalSchoolvakantiesDruk

  The kingdom's schools break and domestic Umrah picks up sharply with them, so the mosque runs busy through the night and thin in the afternoon. It lands on the worst of the heat in the valley. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Hajj (20 apr – 20 jun (meestal)), Eid al-Adha (27–30 mei), Summer heat in the valley (15 mei – 15 sep)

Druk — Saudi summer holidays, schoolvakanties in 5 van de markten die de plek vullen

In juli begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Summer heat in the valley (15 mei – 15 sep), Saudi summer holidays (15 jun – 31 aug (meestal))

Druk — Saudi summer holidays, schoolvakanties in 4 van de markten die de plek vullen

In augustus begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Summer heat in the valley (15 mei – 15 sep), Saudi summer holidays (15 jun – 31 aug (meestal))

Druk — Saudi National Day, schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen

• Feestdag

  Saudi National Day

  23–24 sepNationale feestdagSluitingenDruk

  23 September is a public holiday, often joined to a weekend. Government offices close, streets and buildings are lit green, and evening events and fireworks draw families out, with domestic flights and hotels busier around it. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), Summer heat in the valley (15 mei – 15 sep)

Tussenseizoen — schoolvakanties in 3 van de markten die de plek vullen, een gewone maand

• Seizoen

  The quiet Umrah months

  15 okt – 10 feb · meestalSeizoensluiting

  Between the Hajj crowds and Ramadan the mosque is at its emptiest and the walk to it is bearable. Permits come easily, rooms near the Haram cost a fraction of the Ramadan rate, and the tawaf takes a fraction of the time. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec)

Tussenseizoen — een gewone maand

• Risico

  Winter flash floods

  1 nov – 31 jan · meestalOverstromingsseizoen

  The valley takes most of its rain in a handful of storms and the runoff comes off bare rock into the streets, shutting underpasses and approach roads for a few hours. It has reached the mosque courtyards before now. Bron ↗

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), The quiet Umrah months (15 okt – 10 feb (meestal))

Druk — schoolvakanties in 5 van de markten die de plek vullen, een van de beste maanden qua weer

In december begint er niets nieuws.

Nog steeds bezig: Entry restricted to Muslims (1 jan – 31 dec), The quiet Umrah months (15 okt – 10 feb (meestal)), Winter flash floods (1 nov – 31 jan (meestal))