More than 13.5 thousand inhabitants of the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) will fly to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj this year.
The first flight from Makhachkala will take place on August 14. Pilgrims from Karachay-Cherkessia will travel to Medina from Mineralnye Vody on August 17, the first group from North Ossetia will depart on the same day, and the first plane with pilgrims from Chechnya will depart from Grozny on August 18.
"The last group will leave for Saudi Arabia on August 24," TASS cited the chairman of the committee for the hajj of Chechnya's Spiritual Directorate of Muslims, Adam Jovtokhanov, as saying.
The largest North Caucasian group of pilgrims will be from Dagestan (more than 8 thousand people). Chechnya occupies the second place (2,600 people), Ingushetia will be third (1,400 believers). Karachaevo-Cherkessia has not been able to use the full quota for the Hajj:114 residents of the republic will perform the hajj out of 450. Shrines of Islam this year will be visiteed by about 400 residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, and more than 100 people from North Ossetia. The Stavropol region has the smallest quota of 100 people, however, with the help of representatives of the NCFD republics 400 pilgrims from Stavropol can perform the hajj.
"The oldest pilgrim from Kabardino-Balkaria is 83 years old, the oldest pilgrim woman - 82, the youngest pilgrim this year is a 24-year-old young man," the first deputy head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic, Khyzyr Misirov, said, noting that the cost of the trip in 2017 varies from $2000 to $3100.
