Slower Saudi normalization scraps Umrah visits post-Eid
13:30, 09/03/2021, TuesdayU: Update: 13:34, 09/03/2021, Tuesday
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Turkish religious officials make announcement amid talks with Saudi authorities over pilgrimages this year during pandemic
Saudi authorities have postponed Umrah pilgrimages after this year’s Eid al-Fitr holiday due to a slower pace of normalization from coronavirus, Turkish religious officials announced in a statement Tuesday.
The Eid is due to follow the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year ends in mid-May.
The Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate issued the statement in response to numerous questions from the public about the Hajj and Umrahs this year, after they were cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement said negotiations with the Saudi Hajj and Umrah Ministry for 2021 are ongoing and that any decisions taken as a result will be made public.
Further questions about pilgrimages can be addressed to the directorate’s call center at 0850-260-1313, it added.
*Writing by Dilara Hamit