Pilgrims' progress

摘要

It can be stressful performing the haj, the once-in-a-lifetime Muslim pilgrimage that involves rituals such as kissing the Kaaba's Black Stone and throwing pebbles at the devil. Nifty BlackBerry and iPhone apps, such as Amir (Arabic for "leader"), offer tech-toting pilgrims advice, for a fee. Just as bewildering, however, is finding your way to the holy sites and then back to camp, in a throng of over 3m people. Many pilgrims are poor or old, and rarely travel outside their villages, let alone abroad, according to Rafeo Shah, head of the Pakistan Hajj Mission (phm). Arabic signposts baffle them. Few have smartphones.