To Mecca by Bus
Page 59
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
AFLEET of 250 International Bus-master buses was used this year on the pilgrinAge to Mecca to carry • the " hadjis" from the Red Sea port of Jeddah. Until— recent years, camel caravans had been usedfOr centuries by the pilgrims, but to-day the rritchanizA transport system is undergoing 'steady
improvement. A modern bitumcnoussurfaced highway is being built and will require four years to complete..
The Saudi-Arabian Government purchased the buses through the local•International distributor, Sadaga Kaki, together. with several hundred International mediumand heavy-weight lorries to carry the pilgrims' baggage. The vehicles were placed under, the control of the Arabian Transport Co., which operates the concession for the transport of pilgrims to the holy cities.
ived in July on , the. s.s. "Paul Revere," which was specially chartered for the shipment.
The main route to Mecca passes through Jeddah, 49 miles away, to which pilgrims come from south-east Asia. Some come by sea via the Suez Canal and others travel overland from Damascus.