JEDDAH: Pilgrims have been out in force over the past few days as they do their last-minute shopping and souvenir hunting for loved ones back home. “It's a real pleasure to go shopping in Jeddah,” said Arshia Khatoon, an Indian housewife from Hyderabad, who was out with her family in the Al-Balad district. “There are so many top-of-the-range shops, markets and malls. We've had a wonderful time.” A tour of various shopping centers showed that the vast majority of markets and malls were enjoying a strong pilgrim presence in search of clothes, gold, perfume, abayas, toys, cosmetics and other gifts for friends and relations. Abdul Wasay, a Yemeni who runs a perfumes and jewelry store at Al-Safa Market, said that prior to the Haj pilgrimage most of his customers came from locals seeking items for the Eid holiday. “Since the end of the Haj lots of foreign pilgrims have been coming, mostly from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa,” he said. The gold souq in Al-Kandara, however, was suffering from the spiraling price of gold. “The price of gold is too high,” said shopper Umm Nawaz. “I'm going to buy gold rings for my daughters, but I won't be getting any bracelets or bangles as I had intended.” Abdul Rasheed, the owner of an abaya shop at Al-Morjan Market in Al-Safa District, said that pilgrims were mostly in search of bargains or items that are unavailable in their own countries. “There is a wide variety of new and different abayas,” he said. “I expect to sell a lot.” Muhammad Nawaz, a Pakistani on the Haj pilgrimage for the first time, said he had heard a lot about the shopping in Jeddah and was planning to visit major stores as well as the “bargain basement” shops that sell products for two, five and 10 riyals. “I'll also be taking a look at Tahliah Street, which has some of the best known designer brand shops,” he said. Muhammad, a pilgrim from India browsing the goods on offer at Souq Syria, said he was on the lookout for souvenirs like “prayer beads, prayer rugs, Arabian teapots and perfumes”. According to Muhammad Siddiq, a member of Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pilgrims have already spent an estimated SR3 billion on Haj souvenirs this year. “A study shows that the souvenir markets in Makkah, Madina and Jeddah have attracted hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, with each one spending on an average SR1,500,” Siddiq said.
