DUSHANBE, October 10, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- The first group of Hajj pilgrims from Tajikistan numbering 185 people will fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia tomorrow, at 9:30 am.

Abdughaffor Yusupov, head of the Hajj department within the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan, says the pilgrims will receive their passports and other documents during registration and customs control at the Islamic Center in Dushanbe.

This year, Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, and Tajik private air company, Somon Air, are carrying Tajik Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Tajik Air will operate 12 flights to Jeddah from Dushanbe and Somon Air will operate 19 flights, including eight flights from the Khujand airport.

The last flight with Hajj pilgrims on board will be conducted on October 29.

Tajikistan’s 2011 Hajj quota set by Saudi authorities is 5500 pilgrims; the Hajj cost has increased from US$3,191 to US$3,448 this year. 

The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God.  The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year.