With global oil prices flailing, Saudi Arabia is turning to another natural resource: billions of dollars gained from religious tourism as the kingdom hosts the annual hajj pilgrimage. “The money spent by pilgrims this year could be from 20 to 25 billion riyals (5.3 to 6.7 billion dollars),” said Maher Jamal, head of Makkah’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry - an estimated 70 percent increase from the previous year.

Syrians’ Hajj pilgrimage to the sacred Islamic cities of Madinah and Makkah in Saudi Arabia has begun via Turkey. [...] “Seemingly small, people-centric policies will create big impacts for Turkey’s long-term engagement in the region.”