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For a number of years I had been planning to complete a pilgrimage to the holiest Muslim sites, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Hajj comes at a very expensive cost and it wasn’t something I was prepared to do alone, so I decided to give Umrah a go in the fall of 2017 and feel the experience out. Originally I had planned to visit Northern Iraq (Kurdistan) along with Saudi, but just weeks before my departure the Kurds pressed forward with the independence referendum and Baghdad (along with many other players in the region) put their foot down and blocked all international flights too and from Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, leaving no way for most foreigners to access Kurdistan. Even overland via Turkey was off limits because of their block on Visa stickers for American citizens. This left me in a predicament as I had a flight to Cairo and nothing more.

In order to acquire an Umrah visa, KSA requires full travel plans including airfare and hotels. In fact when I finally made a destination decision, I sent just the flights in and out of Saudi, and they requested all flights, starting in the USA and returning there.

Since I couldn’t just wing this trip and Iraq was out, I went to the drawing board:
• The ‘Stans - I couldn’t get a visa or the flights were very costly.
• South Sudan is very against photography, I’ll wait a bit for them to warm up.
• Eritrea was originally going to be part of this trip too, but I decided to hold off and go with some friends.
• I didn’t want to visit India alone.
• Ethopia seemed like a good option, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

All that being said, I basically didn’t have many options left, so Somalia and Djibouti it was!

Tourism is nearly non existent in Mogadishu (Hargeisa in Somaliland has some but I wanted to go all out!) It seems there are currently three options for visiting Mogadishu as a tourist: Untamed Borders, Visit Mogadishu and the Peace Hotel. I also emailed a contact from a connection on flyertalk who organizes security details for business folks. Besides the prices being 3x (yes I know you can’t put a price on safety) it also seemed very restrictive and I would never be allowed outside of the armored vehicle and had to wear safety gear. Untamed Borders was very organized but their price seemed too high, with their services the same as what Omar from Visit Mogadishu was offering. A few quick emails back and forth and we agreed on a price, and sites to see. For the record even though things cost pennies and inflation is sky high in Somalia, I still paid $750/day, all inclusive. I paid a slight premium to bring along my camera, cell phone only would have saved a bit.

Now that I had a destination, it was time to book some flights and apply for visas. And think up a cover story to tell mother!

FLIGHTS

I had my previous Cairo return booked and QR would not budge on changing the destination to Djibouti no matter how much I pleaded. On the outbound I was able to convince them to swap my origin to Khartoum so I figured this would be just as easy, not so much.

In order to get to Mogadishu my options were limited and the only realistic choice was Turkish via Djibouti (how I decided to visit Djibouti), but cost was still an issue. TK wanted $1200 for a roundtrip from Istanbul. I also discovered I could book an award in economy for 10,000 TK miles each way, but the taxes were still ~$600. Plus I didn’t have a way to quickly get 20k miles. Instead I opted for using United miles, even though it cost 60K miles, there was no fuel surcharge and it allowed me to tag on two (otherwise expensive) flights from Kuwait to Istanbul and Istanbul to Medina. The savings in YQ and the two flights that UA let me tag on the trip with a stopover in Djibouti made spending so many miles for economy palatable.

Back to Qatar, I was able to convince them to let me fly to Kuwait and end my journey there (had I continued on to Cairo, they were only offering economy on Kuwaiti). I would have preferred to fly my Qatar flight to Istanbul, but doing so would put me in United’s Europe, and I wouldn’t be able to have my stopover in Djibouti for free. So I would have to fly QR F to KWI and spend the day there, then economy on Turkish to Istanbul.

Once in Medina, I would overland to Mecca and eventually Jeddah before flying out to Cairo on Saudia, to catch a BA J fare back home to the USA. For less than $100 I slummed it on Southwest from Baltimore and concluded my journey.

The final route

VISAS
For a previous trip I had quite a bit of Visa drama and was a bit scared these destinations would prove equally as difficult, but it was the exact opposite.

Kuwait was visa on arrival or evisa. I had read horror stories of the VOA situation in Kuwait and opted to be prepared with an evisa. I was able to fill in their confusing webform the night before I departed and had my details ready for arrival.

Somalia still doesn’t really have a tourist visa, but my guide was able to procure an Entry Permit for a business visa and even though no one ever asked for it, I had it ready for when I landed in MGQ.

Somalian Entry Permit

Saudi involved the most work, but was very straight forward and easy to understand. One concern was the beginning of Umrah season not being set. Following Hajj, the MFA usually takes 1-2 months to clean up and prepare for the upcoming Umrah season. There is no definitive date they begin issuing visas again and many agencies said I was trying to go too soon, but I finally found one with correct info and I would be able to acquire a visa for my intended dates. (maybe I had a week to spare) The Saudi Embassy does not take personal applications for Hajj and Umrah Visas, so one must go through an approved Hajj and Umrah agency. I opted for Chicago Hajj and Umrah and their service was top notch. I received prompt follow ups and clarification to my questions. They even called within minutes of it being posted to let me know it was approved and I should receive my passport back soon. Their fee since I did not book any travel with them was $200. The Saudi Government recently changed their fee schedule and Business visas are very expensive. Hajj and Umrah Visas are free of charge if you have not made a pilgrimage in the prior year, otherwise it too is costly. They are trying to bring their numbers down (particularly for Hajj) to control crowds. I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t very nervous, but with four days to spare, my visa arrived, and I was all set for this crazy trip.

Saudi Visa

Djibouti was a simple VOA for American citizens, so I didn’t bother to worry about this one, but it wound up almost disrupting my entire trip.

HOTELS

In Somalia I didn’t have much say in my hotel, and would not have picked this one if given the choice, but was staying at the Sahafi Hotel. The hotel was bombed by Al Shabab in 2015 but was rebuilt to be even more secure. That being said, the Safari Hotel, just half a km away, was leveled just 12 days before I arrived in what was Mogadishu’s largest terror attack, with over 500 reported killed. The hotel was one of the few higher end hotels for foreigners outside of the secured airport compound. I wouldn’t call the hotel high end, though the staff and security were great.

Hotels in Djibouti, much like everything else, is filthy expensive. I finally found the Residence Lagon Bleu in the heart of the city and was pleased with the property, location and price of $75 per night.

Medina and Mecca have no shortage of hotels ranging from dorms to ultra luxury. My priority was location as I know the two Mosques can be very crowded and I wanted to minimize my walking. In Medina I was happy to find the Hilton Medina for about $125 a night. The service was top notch but felt like a run down American Hilton. In Mecca I had always planned to stay in the world’s third tallest building, the Royal Clock Tower. There are many hotels, but the Fairmont occupies the majority and has the prime views. I booked a room for about $175 per night, but used a suite upgrade certificate (possibly for the last time) and a third night free. This moved me to a stellar Kaaba View Junior Suite. Marvelous vantage point of such an inspiring destination.

Jeddah also had no shortage of hotels but I wasn’t really sure where the best place to stay was. I finally settled on Dyar Inn Al Hamra and wasn’t disappointed. The AC was cold, and the location was as good as I could expect as a ‘tourist’ in Jeddah. For business or other needs, there may be better locations, but I was in a nice area with plenty around.

Once I made it to Saudi, I knew not much would get in my way on this trip, so I booked a night at the Le Meridian Cairo Airport before my morning flight back home. Just over $100, but I was a bit sick, so mostly just maximized sleep.