General Travel News
Egypt Haj Pilgrims Will Be Reduced 40 per cent
Haj authorities in Egypt have decided to cut the number of Haj pilgrims by 40 per cent this year to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. About 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims come for Haj each year. Chairman of the National Haj Committee in Saudi Arabia said the Egyptian Higher committee for Haj “decided to cut the number of Haj pilgrims to be sent from that country by 40 per cent in view of the increasing reports of swine flu deaths.” Saudi Arabia has so far reported 23 deaths due to swine flu.
The committee also decided not to accept Haj applications from those over the age of 65 or suffering from chronic illnesses and who have been removed from the list of pilgrims based on Arab health ministers recommendations. An Egyptian delegation will visit the Kingdom soon to complete arrangements for medical facilities.in Makkah and Madinah.
More General Travel News
Latest Travel News
Featured Sights To See
Montreal Planetarium
Montreal, Canada
Founded in 1966, the Montreal Planetarium is one of four entries in the Montreal Nature Museum (along with the Biodome, Botanical Garden, and Insectarium). Multimedia exhibits showcase different celestial bodies – planets, quasars, nebulae, galaxies, etc. Free lectures are held from time to time. This is another good attraction for children, but it’s not as good as the other part...
Azraq Wetlands Reserve
Amman, Jordan
The Azraq Wetlands Reserve is part of what little remains of Azraq's wetlands. The wetlands originally covered more than 12,000 square km, larger than the entire country of Lebanon. In the 1960s, Jordan began channeling water from here to use in the cities of Amman and Irbid. By 1990 the wetlands had completely dried up. In 1994, Jordan's Water Authority and the United Natio...
Hoa Lo Prison
Hanoi, Vietnam
Constructed by the French in 1896; mainly to house political prisoners it was taken over by the Vietnamese in 1954. From 1964 to 1973 it was a major POW detention facility with some of the famous inmates including U.S. Sen. John McCain, Pete Peterson, the ambassador to Vietnam, and Lt. Everett Alvarez, officially the first American pilot to be shot down over Vietnam. To the west of the main compl...
Roman Amphitheater
Amman, Jordan
The amphitheater in downtown Amman is the most magnificent remnant of Amman's Roman past. It was built around 170AD at the height of the Roman empire, when Amman was known as Philadelphia. The capacity is upwards of 6,000. Amphitheaters were the heart of Roman civic life. Citizens would gather there to watch plays and discuss politics. The Nymphaeum, an impressive Rom...