0:00:07.060,0:00:09.276
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

0:00:09.276,0:00:13.109
My name is Sadettin Kirmiziyüz.

0:00:13.109,0:00:17.226
I am an assimilated agnostic migrant son,

0:00:17.226,0:00:23.675
but my name, Sadettin, means "Joy of Faith".

0:00:23.675,0:00:26.559
I was asked to give a short report

0:00:26.559,0:00:30.659
on the pilgrimage to Mecca[br]I conducted in 2010 with my father.

0:00:30.659,0:00:32.627
I have 18 minutes to do that.

0:00:32.627,0:00:35.725
I will try to make it.

0:00:35.725,0:00:37.660
I will take you through

0:00:37.660,0:00:42.380
the rituals you perform during this pilgrimage.

0:00:44.026,0:00:46.322
Where should I point?

0:00:49.568,0:00:54.607
You apply for the Hajj with the Hollanda Diyanet Vakfi.

0:00:54.607,0:00:58.176
For the Belgians: there's also[br]a Belgica Diyanet Vakfi,

0:00:58.302,0:01:01.801
but I'll stick to the Dutch version.

0:01:01.801,0:01:05.851
It is a Dutch affiliated department of the Turkish

0:01:05.851,0:01:08.669
Presidency of Religious Affairs,

0:01:08.669,0:01:12.318
founded in 1923 after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

0:01:12.318,0:01:14.669
abrogated the caliphate.

0:01:14.669,0:01:18.967
The caliphate was the islamic pope.

0:01:18.967,0:01:21.003
You enlist here.

0:01:21.003,0:01:23.951
You pay 3,500 euro and you get

0:01:23.951,0:01:27.734
your airplane ticket, visum, 4 weeks stay in a hotel

0:01:27.734,0:01:31.785
and this

0:01:31.785,0:01:33.790
Hajji bag.

0:01:34.836,0:01:37.171
This is a survival kit.

0:01:37.171,0:01:39.534
It contains all sorts of things:

0:01:39.534,0:01:43.935
practical information, pictures, backgrounds, slippers,

0:01:43.935,0:01:46.284
scentless soap, towels,

0:01:46.284,0:01:49.002
the Ihram -- the white garment you wear

0:01:49.002,0:01:50.801
when you are in the sacred state --

0:01:50.801,0:01:53.817
and this prayer book.

0:01:53.817,0:01:55.567
You keep it safe.

0:01:55.567,0:02:00.885
You get vaccinated against malaria, streptococcus,[br]diphtheria, hepatitis, meningitis --

0:02:00.885,0:02:04.185
hepatitis A, B, anything, polio,

0:02:04.185,0:02:06.318
you send your vaccination passport and your passport

0:02:06.318,0:02:09.969
to the Presidency of Religious Affairs

0:02:09.969,0:02:11.752
and you're done.

0:02:11.752,0:02:18.769
May God accept this pilgrimage[br]and make it easy for you.

0:02:18.769,0:02:25.601
For muslims, the Hajj is the culmination[br]of their religious life.

0:02:25.601,0:02:29.868
To celebrate this, at Schiphol airport, in my case,

0:02:29.868,0:02:34.419
thousands of happy family members[br]say goodbye to hundreds of Hajji.

0:02:34.419,0:02:35.785
There is a joint prayer

0:02:35.785,0:02:38.201
to bless the journey,

0:02:38.201,0:02:40.518
and those who stay behind are solemnly promised

0:02:40.518,0:02:42.503
that they will be prayed for

0:02:42.503,0:02:48.351
at the house of God, Baitullah, the Ka'aba.

0:02:48.351,0:02:49.701
I was at Schiphol too,

0:02:49.701,0:02:51.337
where thousands of happy[br]family members said goodbye

0:02:51.337,0:02:53.568
to me and hundreds of Hajji.

0:02:53.568,0:02:55.668
Next to me stood my girlfriend,

0:02:55.668,0:02:57.885
from the Judeo-Christian civilisation.

0:02:57.885,0:02:59.351
As we are standing there,

0:02:59.351,0:03:02.368
the imam who will accompany us, starts to pray.

0:03:02.368,0:03:05.002
I say agnostic, yes I do,

0:03:05.002,0:03:08.368
but I understand very well[br]that this is a serious endeavour.

0:03:08.368,0:03:11.535
So I raise my hands in prayer

0:03:11.535,0:03:16.267
and realise that my girlfriend,[br]with whom I have been cohabiting for 7 years,

0:03:16.267,0:03:20.902
has never seen me praying in all those years.

0:03:20.902,0:03:24.035
Painful? Maybe.

0:03:24.035,0:03:27.201
Even more painful is the fact[br]that the prayer I am supposed to join in,

0:03:27.201,0:03:30.217
is unknown to me.

0:03:30.217,0:03:33.614
So I playback.

0:03:36.768,0:03:40.419
In Istanbul we enter the state of Ihram.

0:03:40.419,0:03:41.751
The garment is called Ihram.

0:03:41.751,0:03:44.518
The sacred state has the same name.

0:03:44.518,0:03:49.568
This is a Hajji looking very much like me.

0:03:49.568,0:03:51.618
My father helped me into this.

0:03:51.618,0:03:53.800
There is no other way to put on the garment.

0:03:53.800,0:03:55.951
You can't do it alone,[br]you help each other.

0:03:55.951,0:03:57.951
The belt I wear around my waist

0:03:57.951,0:04:00.052
needed an extra hole,

0:04:00.052,0:04:01.818
because according to my father

0:04:01.818,0:04:04.101
I am thin because I smoke.

0:04:04.101,0:04:08.319
So I had to pray in Mecca[br]for Allah to help me quit smoking.

0:04:08.319,0:04:09.767
To which I responded,

0:04:09.767,0:04:11.218
"Oh, yes? Do you think Allah will help me quit?

0:04:11.218,0:04:12.836
Really?"

0:04:12.836,0:04:18.267
He said blandly, "Of course.[br]If you ask him, he helps you."

0:04:18.267,0:04:21.169
You tuck one cloth around your waist[br]and one over your shoulder.

0:04:21.169,0:04:26.119
As of that moment, the restrictions[br]of the sacred state apply.

0:04:26.119,0:04:27.469
The restrictions are:

0:04:27.469,0:04:31.735
no nail cuts, no haircuts, no shaving,[br]no scratching wounds,

0:04:31.735,0:04:35.419
no use of scents, no swearing,[br]no complaining, no fighting,

0:04:35.419,0:04:40.469
no underwear, no killing living beings[br]and no sex.

0:04:40.469,0:04:43.218
That means no talking of sex,

0:04:43.218,0:04:45.617
no thinking of sex,

0:04:45.617,0:04:48.236
for four weeks.

0:04:48.236,0:04:50.717
Infringements of these restrictions require atonement,

0:04:50.717,0:04:52.468
spiritually and materially.

0:04:52.468,0:04:56.234
Think "small gift to the poor".

0:04:56.234,0:04:59.035
In the plane from Istanbul to Jedda --

0:04:59.035,0:05:04.152
I can't show you here,[br]but Jedda is on the West Coast,

0:05:04.152,0:05:06.735
it says "Jiddah", near the Red See --

0:05:06.735,0:05:09.768
in that plane there is another joint prayer.

0:05:09.768,0:05:12.967
You use your folding table to rest your forehead

0:05:12.967,0:05:16.201
and as of that moment the Talbiyah can be intoned,

0:05:16.201,0:05:18.135
a special pilgrimage prayer.

0:05:18.135,0:05:24.981
Labbayka Allhumma labbayk, labbayka la shareeka.

0:05:24.981,0:05:26.502
No Hajji in the room?

0:05:26.502,0:05:28.222
Freely translated, it means,

0:05:28.222,0:05:30.002
"Here I am, God, here I am,

0:05:30.002,0:05:31.868
as I was meant to be here.

0:05:31.868,0:05:33.419
Thine is the honor and the glory."

0:05:33.419,0:05:36.019
But when one Hajji intones

0:05:36.019,0:05:40.280
this Talbiyah, the others are supposed to join in.

0:05:40.356,0:05:42.303
So you may happen to be on the bus

0:05:42.303,0:05:45.602
from Jedda to Mecca,[br]four and a half hour through the desert,

0:05:45.602,0:05:47.819
and you are slowly but soundly falling asleep,

0:05:47.819,0:05:50.201
and the Hajji behind you may start,

0:05:50.201,0:05:53.303
Labbayka Allhumma labbayk, labbayka la shareeka,

0:05:53.303,0:05:54.374
so you join in.

0:05:54.374,0:05:58.379
You need to get used to it,[br]but believe me: you get used to anything.

0:05:59.302,0:06:01.551
Then we arrive in Mecca.

0:06:01.551,0:06:03.652
We go straight to the sacred part of the city.

0:06:03.652,0:06:06.586
You will not see Mecca itself during those four weeks.

0:06:06.586,0:06:09.101
This is a replica of the Big Ben.

0:06:09.101,0:06:11.351
They built it there.

0:06:11.351,0:06:15.351
My father pointed out to me that it says[br]"Allah" in Arabic on the Big Ben.

0:06:15.351,0:06:17.651
He thought that was very beautiful.

0:06:17.651,0:06:21.851
You check into your hotel and as of that moment[br]you no longer enjoy double citizenship.

0:06:21.851,0:06:24.801
You are no longer a Belgian Moroccan[br]or a Dutch Turk,

0:06:24.801,0:06:28.051
you are simply a Moroccan or a Turk.[br]That's all.

0:06:28.051,0:06:29.669
Go on.

0:06:29.669,0:06:33.286
To the Masjid al-Haram,[br]the holy mosque,

0:06:33.286,0:06:35.951
because that is where the Ka'aba is.

0:06:35.951,0:06:39.485
By the way, Ka'aba just means "cube".

0:06:39.485,0:06:43.851
What struck me immediately,[br]was its architecture,

0:06:43.851,0:06:45.634
and I don't mean the number of minarets

0:06:45.634,0:06:48.868
or domes, or the beauty of the ornaments,

0:06:48.868,0:06:52.837
no, it was as if the architect had counted in

0:06:52.837,0:06:56.101
the suspense generated by a first look

0:06:56.101,0:06:58.069
at the Ka'aba.

0:06:58.069,0:07:01.502
Because first you have to walk around those walls.

0:07:01.502,0:07:04.451
That is a 500 to 600 meter walk.

0:07:04.451,0:07:07.935
But you know it is there, the Ka'aba. You feel it.

0:07:07.935,0:07:10.276
Outside, Hajji are praying,[br]in that direction.

0:07:10.276,0:07:11.555
You get closer

0:07:11.555,0:07:13.658
until you reach Gate 11.

0:07:13.658,0:07:16.969
You take off your slippers, put them in a plastic bag,[br]put the bag in your backpack

0:07:16.969,0:07:22.136
and then -- astonishment

0:07:22.136,0:07:25.785
because I did not feel the way[br]I thought I would feel.

0:07:25.785,0:07:27.984
Not that I didn't feel anything,[br]make no mistake.

0:07:27.984,0:07:29.568
It was different.

0:07:29.568,0:07:31.752
At home, in Amsterdam,

0:07:31.752,0:07:33.935
I listened a lot to Oum Kalsoum,

0:07:33.935,0:07:36.868
Fairuz, sufi music, Verdi's Requiem,

0:07:36.868,0:07:38.503
I put the volume up and thought,

0:07:38.503,0:07:41.170
yes, I will feel this, exactly this --

0:07:41.170,0:07:42.936
but I wasn't.

0:07:42.936,0:07:45.135
It was not what everybody said[br]I would feel.

0:07:45.135,0:07:48.519
My father, on the bus to the Masjid al-Haram,

0:07:48.519,0:07:51.051
"The Ka'aba is a magnet[br]and we are pieces of iron."

0:07:51.051,0:07:53.885
Or my mother, who couldn't speak of it[br]without tears in her eyes,

0:07:53.885,0:07:56.368
or my aunts, who called it[br]indescribable.

0:07:56.368,0:08:01.702
But astonishment too --[br]because I make jokes, I laugh,

0:08:01.702,0:08:02.885
I say 'agnostic',

0:08:02.885,0:08:05.034
I flirt with atheism, maybe,

0:08:05.034,0:08:07.635
but there were times when I was different.

0:08:07.635,0:08:10.335
In every house I visited, when I was a child,

0:08:10.335,0:08:12.486
every family member had a picture --

0:08:12.486,0:08:16.802
maybe this picture.

0:08:16.802,0:08:20.751
I walk around, butterflies in my stomach,

0:08:20.751,0:08:23.034
in this white speckled human hurricane,

0:08:23.034,0:08:25.284
pumped around this black pulsating heart,

0:08:25.284,0:08:28.184
above me the moon and the stars,

0:08:28.184,0:08:30.801
Allah on the Big Ben,

0:08:30.801,0:08:36.987
and I feel the moon and the stars,[br]God on the Big Ben,

0:08:38.002,0:08:40.951
and that black pulsating heart.

0:08:40.951,0:08:44.534
Here we perform the first real ritual:

0:08:44.534,0:08:46.767
the Tawaaf, the procession.

0:08:46.767,0:08:49.252
Like the planets around the Sun,[br]the Moon around the Earth,

0:08:49.252,0:08:51.752
so does man revolve around God.

0:08:51.752,0:08:54.585
We go round seven times,[br]anti clockwise.

0:08:54.585,0:08:58.068
We are reciting prayers from the prayer book,

0:08:58.068,0:08:59.868
a prayer for every round,

0:08:59.868,0:09:02.268
and after seven rounds[br]we perform a special prayer

0:09:02.268,0:09:06.986
to close the Tawaaf. Masha Allah,[br]congratulations, you performed the Tawaaf.

0:09:06.986,0:09:10.385
We go straight on.[br]I have 9 minutes left.

0:09:10.385,0:09:12.869
We go to the next ritual, the Sa'i.

0:09:12.869,0:09:16.201
The Sa'i is a hike between to hilltops,

0:09:16.201,0:09:20.254
Seffa and Merveh, currently situated[br]within the Masjid al-Haram resort.

0:09:20.254,0:09:23.468
It is a reconstruction.[br]Everything is a reconstruction.

0:09:23.468,0:09:25.882
They are enacting a big theatre play.

0:09:25.882,0:09:30.224
It is a reconstruction of the story of[br]Ibrahim, Abraham, Ibrahim --

0:09:30.224,0:09:34.218
whom God ordered to send his wife, Hagar,[br]and their son Ismail into the wilderness.

0:09:34.218,0:09:37.135
They arrive at this spot, there, in Mecca.

0:09:37.135,0:09:39.503
She understands very well[br]that they will not survive,

0:09:39.503,0:09:41.568
looks for water,

0:09:41.568,0:09:44.118
stands on the hilltop and puts down her baby,

0:09:44.118,0:09:46.253
because she lacks the force to carry it,

0:09:46.253,0:09:48.968
and walks to the other hilltop.

0:09:48.968,0:09:52.051
She arrives at a ravine she needs to bridge

0:09:52.051,0:09:53.719
in order to reach the hilltop.

0:09:53.719,0:09:55.235
So she climbs down,

0:09:55.235,0:09:56.401
and upon arrival at the bottom of the ravine,

0:09:56.401,0:09:58.351
she panics, because she can't see the baby,

0:09:58.351,0:10:01.485
so she runs to the other side, climbs up,

0:10:01.485,0:10:04.869
looks, sees baby Ismail, nothing happened, thank God --

0:10:04.869,0:10:07.285
looks around, sees nothing, runs back,

0:10:07.285,0:10:10.302
through the ravine again, panic again,[br]running to baby Ismail.

0:10:10.302,0:10:12.336
She does this seven times.

0:10:12.336,0:10:14.768
After seven times, she is about to give up,

0:10:14.768,0:10:17.735
when she finds God hasn't forgotten her.

0:10:17.735,0:10:19.968
An angel descends from heaven

0:10:19.968,0:10:22.652
and kicks a hole in the ground[br]with the tip of his wing.

0:10:22.652,0:10:28.382
From that hole, pop![br]water, the Zamzam Well.

0:10:28.382,0:10:31.101
The part with the ravine

0:10:31.101,0:10:35.067
is now indicated with green lights.

0:10:35.067,0:10:38.083
When pilgrims pass a green lamp,

0:10:38.083,0:10:40.384
they are supposed to run to the next ravine.

0:10:40.384,0:10:41.767
It's a reconstruction.

0:10:41.767,0:10:44.783
The Zamzam Well still flows.

0:10:44.783,0:10:46.584
And what did the Saudi do?[br]Very smart:

0:10:46.584,0:10:49.049
they connected the source to an intricate system

0:10:49.049,0:10:54.067
of pumps, tubes, and kettles,[br]so that anywhere in the enormous Masjid al-Haram resort

0:10:54.067,0:10:58.683
you can drink Zamzam water, all day long.[br]Delicious!

0:10:58.683,0:11:01.099
We go straight on.

0:11:01.099,0:11:06.033
We have ten days left to go to[br]the Masjid al-Haram, as often as possible.

0:11:06.033,0:11:06.984
You do it at night.

0:11:06.984,0:11:09.284
It's too hot in daytime. It's 40° Celsius.

0:11:09.284,0:11:11.268
You rest during the day.[br]We go at night.

0:11:11.268,0:11:13.149
We use the special shuttle buses

0:11:13.149,0:11:14.717
taking us to the Masjid.

0:11:14.717,0:11:16.683
You perform a Tawaaf, two, three, four, vijf,

0:11:16.683,0:11:19.850
but most of all: you pray as much as possible.

0:11:19.850,0:11:21.333
Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.

0:11:21.333,0:11:22.866
Not on your knees, Dear Lord Jesus,

0:11:22.866,0:11:24.983
no, the Salat, physical exercise.

0:11:24.983,0:11:30.248
Because one prayer in the Masjid al-Haram,[br]counts for a thousand.

0:11:30.248,0:11:33.517
In the four weeks that I was in Saudi Arabia,

0:11:33.517,0:11:38.715
I prayed 247 times, of which 120 times[br]in the Masjid al-Haram.

0:11:38.715,0:11:42.349
Times thousand.

0:11:42.349,0:11:46.249
Not bad, for an assimilated agnostic migrant son, isn't it?

0:11:46.249,0:11:50.815
After ten days we go to the plain of Arafat.

0:11:50.815,0:11:52.382
Number four.

0:11:52.382,0:11:54.098
We officially become Hajji.

0:11:54.098,0:11:56.014
Mohamed gave his last sermon here,

0:11:56.014,0:11:58.414
and all pilgrims present in Saudi Arabia

0:11:58.414,0:12:00.350
gather on that plain.

0:12:00.350,0:12:02.381
5.5 million people.

0:12:02.381,0:12:03.899
We spend the night in tents,

0:12:03.899,0:12:06.030
men and women separated,

0:12:06.030,0:12:09.265
and it's hot, cramped,

0:12:09.265,0:12:12.715
and there's an exceptional amount of mosquitoes.

0:12:12.715,0:12:15.050
Which you are not allowed to kill.

0:12:15.050,0:12:17.815
You are not allowed to complain.

0:12:17.815,0:12:19.331
The next day, there's a prayer service

0:12:19.331,0:12:20.582
lasting 5.5 hours.

0:12:20.582,0:12:21.981
God is honoured, praised,

0:12:21.981,0:12:23.448
hymns are sung,

0:12:23.448,0:12:27.565
and at the end of the prayer,[br]you congratulate each other:

0:12:27.565,0:12:30.816
Masha Allah, you became Hajji.

0:12:30.816,0:12:32.531
But we are only half way through.

0:12:32.531,0:12:35.581
We move to number 5, Mozdalefah.

0:12:35.581,0:12:37.264
We collect pebbles

0:12:37.264,0:12:39.265
for what I think is the most spectacular part:

0:12:39.265,0:12:41.650
the stoning of the devil.

0:12:41.650,0:12:45.133
You collect 49 pebbles, each symbolizing a sin.

0:12:45.133,0:12:47.499
A bad quality.[br]You will cast them off.

0:12:47.499,0:12:49.650
The stones cannot be smaller than a chickpea

0:12:49.650,0:12:51.681
nor bigger than a hazelnut.

0:12:51.681,0:12:56.782
I had collected 49 pebbles and was ready, at point 5,

0:12:56.782,0:12:59.000
to walk with my father to point 6, Mina,

0:12:59.000,0:13:01.699
where 3 giant pillars symbolize the devil.

0:13:01.699,0:13:03.299
We were waiting for --

0:13:03.299,0:13:05.899
Okay. The Saudi authorities, for some reason,

0:13:05.899,0:13:10.150
had decided that all 140,000 Turkish Hajji[br]present at the time,

0:13:10.150,0:13:12.832
had to gather in an area that was hedged

0:13:12.832,0:13:16.465
with fences, the standard kind

0:13:16.465,0:13:19.549
that you see here as well.[br]Heras-fences, I think.

0:13:19.549,0:13:22.348
This was -- this is about 4 meter.

0:13:22.348,0:13:25.631
Here was a gate that was closed.

0:13:25.631,0:13:27.483
We stood in front of that gate.

0:13:27.483,0:13:29.482
Along the area there was a road.

0:13:29.482,0:13:32.550
On that road there were buses[br]full of pilgrims from other countries.

0:13:32.550,0:13:34.998
The road curved to the right,

0:13:34.998,0:13:36.448
so we waited to cross the road.

0:13:36.448,0:13:41.264
But it took a long time. Longer. And longer.

0:13:41.264,0:13:46.381
It was crowded. More crowded. Even more crowded.

0:13:46.381,0:13:49.431
A few hours earlier, we had run out of water.

0:13:49.431,0:13:51.565
But hey, this is a test. I am zen.

0:13:51.565,0:13:52.998
I am calm. I will not be upset.

0:13:52.998,0:13:54.348
I lower my breath.

0:13:54.348,0:13:55.632
As I lower my breath, my father says,

0:13:55.632,0:13:58.464
"I really don't feel like doing this, man.

0:13:58.464,0:14:00.499
I'm not going to stand here, no way.

0:14:00.499,0:14:01.365
This will bow wrong."

0:14:01.365,0:14:03.483
"Hey, dad, come on! We've come this far.

0:14:03.483,0:14:04.733
Let's stone the devil together."

0:14:04.733,0:14:06.582
"No, no, no way, no way.

0:14:06.582,0:14:08.234
Got your phone?" "Yes, yes."

0:14:08.234,0:14:09.649
"I will stand on a quiet spot.

0:14:09.649,0:14:12.650
As soon as you cross that gate,[br]call me and we move on.

0:14:12.650,0:14:13.565
"Fine, okay."

0:14:13.565,0:14:17.232
He leaves the crowd[br]and at that moment someone faints.

0:14:17.232,0:14:20.600
A lady. The lady had a tougher time,[br]they were covered.

0:14:20.600,0:14:24.699
Someone faints over there, and there, and there.

0:14:24.699,0:14:25.849
Someone yells in the back:

0:14:25.849,0:14:29.081
for heaven's sake, make room, she is dying.

0:14:29.081,0:14:32.365
Which caused the Hajji standing there

0:14:32.365,0:14:36.449
to yell that the damned fucking arabs[br]needed to open the fucking gate

0:14:36.449,0:14:39.549
because he wanted value for his 3,500 euro.

0:14:39.549,0:14:43.332
Hajji, sabr, sabr, what are you doing, think, think!

0:14:43.332,0:14:46.665
A Hajji responds that the son-of-such-and-such-woman needs to shut up

0:14:46.665,0:14:49.082
or else he'll smack the teeth out of his mouth.

0:14:49.082,0:14:51.415
As of that moment, things get hazy.

0:14:51.415,0:14:54.265
I know that suddenly I didn't feel the ground under my feet

0:14:54.265,0:14:56.349
and before my mind's eye I saw images

0:14:56.349,0:15:01.650
of '97, '98, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008,

0:15:01.650,0:15:04.115
of Hajji with distorted limbs and bloody Ihrams,

0:15:04.115,0:15:05.765
and okay, I know I am a skinny guy,

0:15:05.765,0:15:08.299
but I have been in a mosh pit at a concert

0:15:08.299,0:15:09.599
so I know, mmmm!

0:15:09.599,0:15:12.864
I was surrounded by Turkish aunties, this high.

0:15:12.864,0:15:14.401
I do not know what happened to these women.

0:15:14.401,0:15:16.665
I just know that suddenly[br]I was at the other side of the gate

0:15:16.665,0:15:18.265
with stuff sticking to my legs.

0:15:18.265,0:15:20.449
Did I stand on someone? Did I fall? No idea.

0:15:20.449,0:15:22.448
I can only walk, so that I get the fuck out ...

0:15:22.448,0:15:23.949
No, I didn't think fuck, I didn't, really not.

0:15:23.949,0:15:25.681
Run, run, run.[br]I ran like hell.

0:15:25.681,0:15:31.798
Because behind me on the road[br]139,998 Turkish Hajji came up.

0:15:31.798,0:15:34.315
So I ran, I took my phone

0:15:34.315,0:15:36.648
and I swear, as if the devil had it's way,

0:15:36.648,0:15:39.165
battery empty.

0:15:39.165,0:15:42.130
I lose everyone, my father,

0:15:42.130,0:15:43.414
the other Dutch Hajji,

0:15:43.414,0:15:46.131
and I walk alone for hours, 7 kilometer,

0:15:46.131,0:15:48.982
lost, along dusty roads,[br]looking for water.

0:15:48.982,0:15:51.816
I find a fountain with Zamzam water, finally,

0:15:51.816,0:15:53.349
I get there and think,

0:15:53.349,0:15:56.866
"I've been having inappropriate thoughts.

0:15:56.866,0:15:58.098
I will stone the devil.

0:15:58.098,0:16:00.799
I will cast off my bad qualities --

0:16:00.799,0:16:03.515
I have more than I can recount now,[br]but I have little time left --

0:16:03.515,0:16:04.983
I think, concentrate, Sadettin,

0:16:04.983,0:16:06.816
it is still possible.

0:16:06.816,0:16:09.399
I get a poach with the 49 stones.

0:16:09.399,0:16:11.832
I empty it in my hand.

0:16:11.832,0:16:17.015
From now on, never, really never --

0:16:17.015,0:16:19.931
and then all hell breaks loose around me.

0:16:19.931,0:16:22.515
To my left are 3 Iranian Hajji.

0:16:22.515,0:16:24.533
Long beards, turban.

0:16:24.533,0:16:26.665
I see slippers fly through the air.

0:16:26.665,0:16:28.299
A crutch flies by

0:16:28.299,0:16:29.665
and luckily, just before that,

0:16:29.665,0:16:32.581
I put on my face mask.

0:16:32.581,0:16:34.832
Because I start laughing out loud.

0:16:34.832,0:16:38.814
I walk on to the hotel.

0:16:38.814,0:16:40.681
Before I enter the hotel,

0:16:40.681,0:16:42.132
I enter a store.

0:16:42.132,0:16:44.233
I buy three mars bars, three snicker bars,

0:16:44.233,0:16:48.381
one bottle of Mecca cola, a pack of cigarettes.

0:16:48.381,0:16:49.615
I sit down in the lobby of the hotel,

0:16:49.615,0:16:51.481
I eat the snickers, the marses,

0:16:51.481,0:16:52.982
I drink the entire bottle of Mecca cola in one gulp,

0:16:52.982,0:16:56.645
I light a cigarette and someone taps on my shoulder.

0:16:56.891,0:17:02.849
And? How did it go, my boy?

0:17:02.849,0:17:07.199
Was my father. All quiet and peace.

0:17:07.199,0:17:09.449
The stoning of the Devil is the start[br]of the Feast of the Sacrifice.

0:17:09.449,0:17:11.464
I say "Sacrifice". Some say "Slaughter".

0:17:11.464,0:17:12.798
I prefer "Feast of the Sacrifice".

0:17:12.798,0:17:15.214
It commemorates this scene:

0:17:15.214,0:17:18.233
the story of Abraham who is again put to the test.

0:17:18.233,0:17:20.631
God orders him to sacrifice his son.

0:17:20.631,0:17:23.966
In the Bible it's Isaac, in the Quran it's Ismail.

0:17:23.966,0:17:25.798
Let's say it's Ismail.

0:17:25.798,0:17:28.964
But at the moment suprême, this moment, that is,

0:17:28.964,0:17:31.115
an angel descends from heaven.

0:17:31.115,0:17:33.116
It points out this ram to Abraham,

0:17:33.116,0:17:35.132
in the lower right corner,

0:17:35.132,0:17:37.449
with its horn entangled in the bush.

0:17:37.449,0:17:39.849
The Feast of the Sacrifice, you might say

0:17:39.849,0:17:42.015
commemorates the fact that we don't slaughter

0:17:42.015,0:17:45.081
our children but our animals unstunned.

0:17:45.081,0:17:48.599
I offered a sheep too.

0:17:48.599,0:17:51.248
Really. I kept the ticket.

0:17:51.248,0:17:54.881
Where is it? Here.[br]Can you see it?

0:17:54.881,0:17:57.765
Sharp eyes.[br]It says 410, doesn't it?

0:17:57.765,0:18:02.266
Take it.[br]It says 410 rial, doesn't it?

0:18:02.266,0:18:05.266
Saudi currency. Divide by 5.[br]82 euro.

0:18:05.266,0:18:08.131
82 euro to buy a sheep, have it slaughtered,

0:18:08.131,0:18:10.581
chopped up, fly across the world,

0:18:10.581,0:18:12.382
distributed among the poor and needy.

0:18:12.382,0:18:15.366
I haven't seen the sheep.

0:18:15.366,0:18:18.381
Impossible. 5.5 million people[br]who all want to be there.

0:18:18.381,0:18:20.115
Slaughterhouses only have limited capacity.

0:18:20.115,0:18:21.699
That ticket is the only proof of the sheep

0:18:21.699,0:18:26.914
which is why I want it back.

0:18:26.914,0:18:29.448
The Feast of the Sacrifice also means[br]you may shave off your hair

0:18:29.448,0:18:32.181
as a sign of literal transformation.

0:18:32.181,0:18:34.265
You leave part of yourself behind

0:18:34.265,0:18:36.600
in this sacred place.

0:18:36.600,0:18:38.631
Only the men shave.

0:18:38.631,0:18:42.214
5.5 million people, 60% males,[br]80% of whom go bald.

0:18:42.214,0:18:45.015
That means 2.4 million men.

0:18:45.015,0:18:47.650
It happens everywhere, this going bald.

0:18:47.650,0:18:49.582
As a result the streets of Mecca

0:18:49.582,0:18:53.282
are covered in men's hair for three days.

0:18:53.282,0:18:55.648
So you need to clean your slippers

0:18:55.648,0:18:58.949
before you enter your hotel room.

0:18:58.949,0:19:05.328
This is him, Satan.

0:19:06.682,0:19:09.915
Not really, it's a symbol.

0:19:09.915,0:19:13.181
You throw stones at it,[br]for three days.

0:19:13.181,0:19:15.580
Then we pay a last visit to the Masjid al-Haram.

0:19:15.580,0:19:17.233
We perform a farewell Tawaaf.

0:19:17.233,0:19:19.914
This is the last thing we do in Mecca.

0:19:19.914,0:19:23.132
We go on to Medina

0:19:23.132,0:19:26.699
to visit the mosque and the grave of the prophet,

0:19:26.699,0:19:29.015
the Masjid an-Nabawi, the prophet's mosque,

0:19:29.015,0:19:32.264
which is built around Mohammed's grave.

0:19:32.264,0:19:33.864
We salute the grave.

0:19:33.864,0:19:37.699
Salute. Remember, no praying at the grave,[br]that is not allowed.

0:19:37.699,0:19:39.964
It is sherk, idolatry.

0:19:39.964,0:19:43.565
No, Muhammad was a simple man, we salute.

0:19:43.565,0:19:46.582
Then you buy 7 kilos of dates,

0:19:46.582,0:19:49.548
you fill a jerry can with 10 liter of Zamzam water,

0:19:49.548,0:19:52.431
you buy an alarm indicating the hours of prayer

0:19:52.431,0:19:55.733
and having the call to prayer as an alarm tone.

0:19:55.733,0:19:57.249
You buy it for your mother.

0:19:57.249,0:20:00.965
You get onto the plane in Medina,[br]stop over at Istanbul.

0:20:00.965,0:20:03.465
You land at Schiphol airport.

0:20:03.465,0:20:06.715
There are thousands of happy Turks.

0:20:06.715,0:20:08.164
There are flowers.

0:20:08.164,0:20:10.715
There is applause. Masha Allah.

0:20:10.715,0:20:13.764
You performed the Hajj.

0:20:13.764,0:20:16.931
(Applause)