Umrah during Ramadhan

A/a

I am planning to go and do an Umrah during Ramadhan. Basically I am after any advice as I am a novice and only know the basics. I am really excited and can't wait to see the Kabaa and also Masjid Nabawwi !

My initial concerns are :

I'm afraid that the two sheets will fall off during Umrah !
I hear the food/water could be dodgy - especially during Ramdhan.
Also I expect it to be really busy during Ramadhan, I wonder what the quieter times would be for doing tawaaf etc ?

Please share your experiences and any tips would be much appreciated !

I've been during the first 14 days of Ramadan approx 7 years ago. You will notice as the days go on it starts to get alot busier.

Food wise there were no problems. At sunset as you are walking to the mosque there will be people bringing you into the mosque to come and break your fast. The portions were quite small but the bread and youghurt they give you fills you up. There are quite a few street vendors outside the mosque before Sehri as well.
Always stick to bottled water.

It's probably the quietest around 2-4 in the morning even then it is quite difficult to get to the kiss blackstone.

Never been there in Ramadhan. Please do remember me and other brothers in your duas.

I went during Ramadhan two years ago for the last 3 weeks or so and mashallah its an amazing experience. As the brother has mentioned it does get busier and busier as the days pass with a lot of arab people from neighbouring countries coming for the last nights and it all builds up to the 27th night as well as the last Jumma prayers. When I went - we stayed first few days in Mecca - then went to medina for 6-7 nights - and then came back to Mecca from the 24-25th Roza onwards. There is a big difference between the two places in terms of atmosphere - mashallah both are beautiful - but you notice slight differences - in mecca you will find that there is a lot of hussle and bussle and that the whole place is buzzing 24-7 and the people are getting on with doing thier on stuff. Whilst in Medina it is very peaceful and tranquil with the the people there bieng very hospitable and welcoming. When you go to open Roza in Majid Nabwi people will start grabbing you trying to get you to open roza with them, you dont get this in mecca.

In terms of the two cloths - just get some practise in - the top cloth is not a problem - because even if it falls of its not a big issue - however the bottom cloth - get some practise in at home before you go and just feel comfortable in it. You can get some belts which you can use to hold it - I had the same fear - but allhamdolliah onces you have worn it you feel comfortable in it (even though every two minutes your checking to make sure its secure). If you do Umrah during the last 6-8 days then you will find that it is very very busy. On the Last Jummah prayers it was estimated that over 2 million people were in Mecca for the Friday prayers which gives you an idea of how busy it gets.

From personal experience I would not jump into doing the umrah straight away after arriving in Mecca - get some rest - a lot of people as soon as they arrive in mecca - are straight off to do Umrah - despite the fact they have been travelling for a long time - and this makes the umrah harder because both ure body and mind and tired.

The cold iced water that is provided is not good for your throat - and it messes your throat up - try to avoid it if you can - get bottled water - or get a big bottle and go to the place where you can get the original 'un-iced' version of ZamZam and carry that around.

The food generally is cheap and cheerful with a lot of pakistani restaurants there providing apna food - and in the general because its cheap and cheerful - this is reflected in the quality - i tended to stay away from meat products - tried sticking to rice and lentils - as well as fruits and fruit drinks. Theres a super market both in Mecca and Medina called Bin-Dawood and you can pretty much most things there (milk,fruit,yogurts, biscuits,cereals etc) - so its a very useful place.

What i tended to do for tawaaf was after fajar go to the hotel and go to sleep and on some occassions do the same after zuhur to asar. But From asar onwards do ibaadah and generally stay in the masjid. In the last 10 nights they do these special nawafil prayers (not sure of the name) these are after trawee prayers and generally around 12.00 and these lasted for two hours. I wouldent take part in these nawafil prayers but instead do tawaaf at this time - whilst listening to Shiekh Sudais and Shuraim doing recitation of the Quran - (its amazing listening to the two sheikhs live especially to Sudais). They complete the whole quran in during the last 10 days as well as the trawees on top.
During noon - there are less people doing tawaaf - but its boiling hot so best to avoid during this time - After fajar namaz - it is fairly quite - as a lot of people go to sleep - however its still busy. During the so called quite times you still struggle to do 'Bosa' with there a lot of jostling and pushing - try to avoid this for the sake of doing 'Bosa' as you get more gunnah if you pushing people to do it.

Mashallah its a top experience and one you will deffo enjoy - remember me in your Duas and if you have any other questions Ill try to answer.

i'm going on 8 september inshallah .the only thing people warned me about is that keep hold of you money because that's the only thing they steal even during tawaf

Insha"Allah iam also planning to go in Ramadhan Sep 10th i went 4yrs ago it is busy during Ramdhan the last 10 days most busy.
doing tawaaf most times it is busy except during noon and zhur time because it is too hot and after midnight it is also less busy.
The food is great there they have a lot of restaurants you can get anything you like there.
Insha'Allah you will be amazed first time you see the Kaa'ba it is great experience, dont worry about the ihram it wont fall off as long as you do it properly like a lungi

Thanks for sharing your experiences - it sounds totally awesome !

I am glad that there is a super market as I like my cereal in the morning and it is comforting to know that I can buy most stuff from there - although I have to say I also like my meat so its going to be hard to resist and I know that I am going to get an upset tummy or something !

It seems sensible to get used to wearing the ihram sheets before hand so I will give them ago - I am a bit reluctant to wear a belt as it doesn't seem right.

I think it will be tough however that is probably all part of the experience. The intention is to do tawaaf after fajr time but we shall see when we get there.

Cereal in sehri is a no no. Very bad for you. You need undaa, parhata, qeema and doodh jalaebee or some tasty salan (curry). maybe halwa puri with the spicy channa or whatever they make so you can load up on it and sleep for 6 hours

here mate do you live in england? and if ur still trying to book the trip get the details from here or ring the office and they will tell u the dates of flying out if u want to go with the group

http://www.smtravels.co.uk/

btw this is my dads business and he would find u a really good package

Day time at noon would be relatively quieter than the night time.

Since its Ramadhan, dont think it will matter though as it would be quite busy.

First 14 days are alright, last 10 are hectic and unbearable - too much rush.