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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| bhaloo |
| 02/23/05 at 23:07:56 |
| [slm] Seriously, this is the biggest thing I've wondered about during Hajj. I mean with 2 million Hajjis, how are the bathrooms? Are they clean, are they usable? Is there a danger of getting dirty or what not? I remember reading somewhere where Yahiya Emerick advised Americans to take toilet paper with them. Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter. I was also reading this part on Kashif's blog (a former moderator of our board here): .... The remaining three days we stayed in Mina. The bathrooms got a bit of getting used to. There was basically a row of cubicles each of which doubled up as a toilet and a shower. In the beginning, i used to have a shower each time i had to go, because of the fear of having dirty water get on my body. But then i relaxed and just tried to be careful. There must have been some heavy brothers around because the toilet seats were broken on the first day. ... Taken from: http://peacebruv.blogspot.com/ |
| Re: Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| timbuktu |
| 02/24/05 at 07:22:33 |
| [slm] This was also my greatest worry. What I found was that the by and large, the standard is much higher than in Pakistan, but lower than in the West. In our hotel, we had English type commodes, and the bathrooms varied in degree of tolerance. In three or four star hotels, these would be better. At Jeddah International, the standard would be good. The Hujjaj do not go to Jeddah International; they go to Jeddah Madinatul Hujjaj, and there are very few English type ones, and I think one has to compromise a little. The advice of brother Emerick is correct. In fcat, our Ministry of Hajj also gave us this advice, and my wife made fun of me: "Wouldn't they have toilet paper in SA?" Well, not in the places I visited. So, at Madinatul Hujjaj, most of the toilets are Indian type, and the color of these isn't what you would like to see. In SA, the water for cleaning in the Indian type toilets comes from a tap, to which is attached a plastic pipe, and you turn on the tap for cleaning yourself. Where English type commodes exist, there is a Muslim shower, The showers at Madinatul Hujjaj are separate from the toilets, not like at Mina. The best toilets are for the Haramain. They are separate from the Masjids, and set in the courtyards, but they are again mostly Indian types, and with the technology of the plastic pipe. However, these are kept very clean. Only when there is a huge rush of people, do you get the smells. For the Masajid along the highways, or in the cities, the standards vary, but the type and the technology remains the same. Nowhere are they as dirty-looking as at Jeddah Madinatul Hujjaj. At Mina, there are ample facilities, with the same technology. However, this ampleness turns into a shortage as the crowd thickens. I think the Saudis need to build more facilities. [i]I have told you about my experience. I was truly lucky. Others found it necessary to fill up a water bottle, tighten the cap, and abandon it somewhere. I was also advised to do the same, but I just couldn't.[/i] What I suggest is that you buy a small tent (I don't remember the price, from Jeddah or Madinah, Jeddah is cheapest, then Madinah. You also keep one or two large cans (or many small cans, the number depending upon the number of people in your group), label them so that no one thinks it is for drinking, and when the need arises, and you cannot get easily into a public toilet, do it in the privacy of your tent. These tents are easily available, and were very much in evidence, in use by families. Also, do as I did: realise that we have to recognise our sins and seek forgiveness, and ask Allah to make it easy. |
| 02/24/05 at 08:11:23 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| Kathy |
| 02/24/05 at 08:21:46 |
| [slm] A dear sister told me the women's side point of view: It is a long story, but she had to use the men's toilet. She said the men's bathrooms were much cleaner than the women's. ( Yes, her hubby cleared out the room for her.... ya gotta know this couple....) She had some horror stories about the women's bathrooms.... |
| Re: Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| Nazia |
| 02/24/05 at 12:09:54 |
| Assalamu Alaikum :) I think the important thing for us was that while the bathrooms at Mina/Arafat/Muzdalifa are definitely not what we were used to, we also had to have a slightly "rougher" standard while we were at Hajj--and this made almost anything bearable. Many of the American compounds at Mina had tents that were only for residents of that compound (not for the random Joe Hajji if you will), however, this did not mean that they were any cleaner. My advice for the men and women would be this: Understand full and well, that the bathrooms will be gross. Do not expect anything better. Instead, prepare yourself. Women, the easiest thing was to wear a dress, so that you could just pull it up and avoid dragging it on the wet floors. Same for men, thawbs will be your best friend after you are out of Ihram. The American style toilets had a hard time flushing toilet paper, as a result, they were often clogged, and there was always a pile of wet, soggy toilet paper all around the toilets. God knows where they came from. Eastern style toilets quickly became the toilet of choice for most of us westerners. My husband and his friends dubbed it the "Crouching Tiger." They were always cleaner-no lingering toilet paper, and because they were flush to the ground (no pun intended) there was more space left to shower. Also, be mindful of what you eat--prevention is the best medicine! If you don't want to spend hours on the crouching tiger, you may want to avoid "Sameer's Sizzling Street Shwarmas" no matter how good it smells! But its Hajj, and you also might not have many options..so do what you gotta do.. but keep the Immodium AD close by. But overall, its a small price to pay, and now we look back and smile and laugh thinking about our bathroom experiences...You know, SubhanAllah, its amazing the way Allah (SWT) tests different people. For us it was the wet, stinky bathrooms, because Allah knows our limits and knows what we can bear and what we can't. For THOUSANDS of other Hajjis, it was sleeping on the streets every night, living literally among the TRASH, lucky if they were able to have access to the public restrooms (which were FAR worse then ours). The whole thing is an amazing experience, with a new lesson around every corner. You just have to be open to learning :) Bottom line: wear a dress, hold your breath, and don't eat shwarmas!! :) Nazia |
| Re: Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| timbuktu |
| 02/25/05 at 07:41:07 |
| [slm] the sisters do have it rougher than the brothers. At two places, I too saw a woman wanting to get into the men's toilets. At our Mina Camp for South Asia (and the Saudis have a very wider interpretation of "South" than those in the subcontinent), there was a special set of facilities the access to which was a little out of the way. One of the toilets was kept locked, presumably for a Minister or some other dignitary who was staying there. The other toilets cum showers had a wooden platform that could be spread over the Indian commode, thus concealing it, and one could take a shower standing over this. This "ingenyuity" hadn't found its way in the less provileged sections. The advice given by sis Nazia is good. Watch toyr intake, both fluid and solid, and also mu adviceL do astaghfaar, and seek help from Allah. |
| Re: Questions about bathrooms during Hajj? |
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| sal |
| 02/26/05 at 14:22:53 |
| [quote]hold your breath, and don't eat shwarmas!![/quote] I really did this ,this year and worked well :) |
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