"Hajjis, sit down!"

We went to Germany again (can you believe it?) to spend some of the Christmas season with the Troils (minus Eric who is in Afghanistan). We had an awesome time (more about that later). We left Riyadh at 0200...yawn...early morning. When we checked in we were told that the flight would be stopping in Jeddah...no problem. Our flight from Riyadh to Jeddah was ok. The plane was pretty full but the flight attendants were pleasant. Everything was going well.
We land in Jeddah. All the Saudi’s get off. There are just a handful of us expats left on the plane. We’re thinking this is going to be a great flight to Germany. After about 45 minutes we’re asked to sit down in our seats. One of the expats asked if the flight was going to be full and was told “Yes.” And “Yes” it was full.
On the plane they came...the Turkish horde. The boisterous, big and hygiene deficient Turkish Hajjis. Now I’m not trying to disparage the Hajjis...but wow it was site I’ve never witnessed before up close (I’ve seen stuff like this on TV).
All Muslims, if financially and physically able, are supposed to perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime. There are whole tourist agencies built around the Hajj. It’s incredible. But when you consider that over 3 million attend Hajj this year and the number keeps going up..well that’s a lot of money. I know that most of the Hajjis are just humble people doing something to help build their spirituality and understanding of their faith.
As the Turkish Hajjis entered the airplane it was as if the rest of us didn’t exist. Here we are sitting quietly in our seats and then all this commotion. One man kept telling the flight attendant that he was supposed to get a window seat and was expecting the expat sitting there to get up! The flight attendant told him that his travel agent may have told the traveller he was getting a window seat but he wasn’t. She pointed to his three seats and in a firm voice told him to sit down (she had to repeat this three times before he and his group sat down). The Hajjis would look at their tickets, the number and then just sit wherever. I’m not sure if they couldn’t read the number or if they just saw an empty seat and decided what the heck I’ll sit here. The flight attendants were going crazy trying to get everyone in their assigned seats. Even when the seats were found the Hajjis would wander around the plane chatting with each other. Finally, in exasperation, one male flight attendant, in a loud voice, said “Hajjis, sit down!” Some did and some didn’t. Over the loud speaker came the announcement “Open seating...please find a seat and sit down.” That created even more chaos.
After an hour the Hajjis were finally in their seats and the plane was ready to take off. We’re in the air cruising and the coughing begins. Not just one or two people but half the plane! Cough, cough, cough. I felt like germs were crawling on me and I was contaminated. I wanted to scream, run down the aisle, open the emergency hatch and parachute out and then burn the clothes I was wearing. I could tell Laurie was not enjoying the flight at all. Lucky for Timmy he was sleeping.
The loud talking, the wandering, hygiene deficient and the coughing....sigh...it didn’t make for a good flight for me. BUT I also have to remember that for the Hajjis this was the high point of their life. They were excited. They had done Hajj. They couldn’t wait to tell their experience to family and friends waiting for them in Germany. So I kept repeating “Serenity now,,,serenty now....”
As we landed I told Laurie that we needed to just sit on the plane until the Hajjis had gotten off and she agreed. I did get up to get a suitcase for the female Hajji sitting in front of us. She smiled and thanked me.
The Hajjis had mostly debarked so we got up and got off the plane. We got our luggage and went to passport control. There were the Hajjis...but lined up and being quiet. As we left the area the doors opened and there were hundreds of family and friends waiting for the Hajjis. I knew they couldn’t wait to hear the stories and that the Hajjis couldn’t wait to tell their stories.
It was by far one of my worst flights...but...what’s a little chaos. We got to Germany ok...we survived the Hajjis...we had an awesome time in Germany. The flight back to Riyadh...practically empty and quiet and best of all no coughing.