For many Muslims, making the Hajj involves traveling long distances and incurring huge expenses. In India, the government has actually offered Hajj subsidies to airlines to offer discounted rates to Muslim pilgrims making the trip to Saudi Arabia, according to the Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times.
Once arriving in Saudi Arabia but before entering Mecca, all pilgrims must stop at a station outside the pilgrimage boundaries to cleanse, declare his intention to make the pilgrimage, and, if male, don ritual clothing known as Ihram. A pilgrim’s Hajj does not officially begin until they have completed these steps.
