Travel Tips for the Madinah City - Complete Itinerary

The city known for receiving millions of pilgrims, Madinah City is considered as the city of Prophet Muhammad SAWW as he migrates to Madinah after being exiled from the Makkah City. Though the city receives most of its tourists as pilgrims, there are a good number of travelers as well who came here for either business or for tourism purposes.
Like any other city or territory, Madinah City has its rules and regulations that every person walking on the road or sitting in his home is abide by to follow. The rules also must be followed by the tourists so that they can complete their tour without any trouble whatsoever. Here we will discuss some travel tips to Madinah City so the tourists and pilgrims can travel to the holy city safe and sound. ï·Visa Specifications: though it is known by many, Visa to a city is issued as per the work of the applicant. If you are visiting Madinah City for the sake of performance of the pilgrimage then you will be issued with Pilgrimage Visa but if you have to make spree to Madinah for business purposes, you will be granted with business visa. Tourists to Madinah are abided to follow their visa category which means that a tourist with Business visa cannot perform Umrah in the same trip. Umrah pilgrims however are granted to do shopping and pay Ziyarat to the sacred sites in Madinah on their Umrha visa. Talks about permitting business travelers to do Umrah in the same visa were in town but nothing about that is confirmed yet. ï·Entrance regulations: Madinah is considered as the second holiest city after Makkah and is firmly pertained to Islam because half of the rituals of Hajj and Umrah are performed in Madinah. The city is regarded as one of the holiest city in the Islamic history and is admired by the Muslims all around the world. Due to such reason, only Muslims are allowed to enter into the Madinah city and it is forbidden for non- Muslims to enter into the city after a specific point. Signs are displayed everywhere showing that non-Muslims cannot proceed further to the mentioned point. Any non- Muslim who tries to enter into the city after certain point is either fined heavily or is deported. So, make sure to follow the signs displayed if you are a non- Muslim. ï·Proper clothing: Makkah and Madinah both are pilgrimage cities so their rules are a bit strict than the rest of the cities in the Saudi Kingdom. Although proper dressing rules are followed in every city, the focus on dressing properly while being in Makkah and Madinah is greatest. From little girls to older women, females are required to dress properly where none of their body part is revealed. Muslim women mostly wear hijab and Abaya whereas non- Muslim women can wear anything until and unless it is not revealing. Try to dress modestly so that you don’t have to face any problem. ï·Be aware of pickpockets: though Makkah and Madinah are the holiest cities and the crime rate in these cities is lowest but the presence of malevolent cannot be denied as you will find it everywhere you go. While being in Madinah, be aware of the pickpockets and conmen. The most common scam is about currency exchange. Many people will come to you and even show you the money to exchange your currency into Riyals. Do not exchange money on the roads or streets with such people but consult a currency exchange office for the purpose. Your will find currency exchange offices busiest after the prayer times so make your way their somewhere before the prayers.
Pickpockets are also everywhere so keep only that amount of money that you need during some hours and do not take extra money along with you. ï·Use tools for conveyance: on your Umrah spree, if you want to pay Ziyarat to the sacred sites in Madinah and take a taxi then try to accompany yourself with one or two more people. This will not only be saved but also make it easy to remember the way back to your hotel. In case you don’t have the company then using transport applications can make your journey simple and easy. First, there may be a problem in communicating with the driver as he doesn’t know English and you do not know Arabic. For this, download Google Translator that will help you to communicate with the driver whatever your nationality is. Second, download the Google offline Mas so you can track your way even if you don’t have internet access. Third, having an app about Madinah city or its sacred sites may also be helpful. ï·Don’t try to swindle: as mentioned earlier, non- Muslims cannot enter to the central Madinah and can only visit the city for business or leisure purposes. Many non- Muslims want to tour Prophet’s Mosque as a touring site but they are not permitted to do so. Many of them tried to enter into the mosque but were caught and had to face serious consequences. Do not try to ever do that because you cannot make into the central area. Even if you can make your way all to the mosque, the documents are checked at the entrance and if you are found to be a non- Muslim then you will be immediately deported, will be fined or both.