Three Lithuanians went on a Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia

Three Lithuanians — Nojus, Eimantas, and Irmantas — have recently returned from a special spiritual journey: the minor pilgrimage known as Umrah. The trip was organized through cooperation between the Islamic Center and the international World Umrah program, which brought together more than 200 participants from nearly 30 different countries around the world.

Among the pilgrims were converts to Islam from Japan, Peru, Nigeria, Russia, Croatia, Montenegro, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and many other countries. The Lithuanian participants became part of this multicultural community, and during the journey they not only performed religious rituals but also broadened their cultural understanding.

During the trip, the pilgrims visited the holiest sites in Islam — Mecca and Medina — as well as other cities in Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah and Taif. They performed the Umrah rituals at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and visited the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, where they had the opportunity to visit Rawdah Sharif — the place where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as well as Abu Bakr and ʿUmar, two of his closest companions, are buried.

The program also included many educational experiences. The group visited the Cave of Hira Museum, the Qur’an Museum — which houses the world’s largest Qur’an listed in the Guinness Book of Records — and the Prophet’s Mosque Museum. A particularly strong impression was made by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Glorious Qur’an, where millions of copies of the Qur’an are printed each year, as well as the Kiswah (the covering of the Kaaba) production center, where pilgrims observed the hand embroidery of this highly significant cloth.

Equally meaningful was the visit to Mount Uhud, where participants learned about the famous Battle of Uhud, saw the graves of the martyrs and the Archers’ Hill, as well as Quba Mosque — the first mosque in Islam.

Together with other participants, the Lithuanians also experienced Saudi hospitality — visiting a Quraysh family in Mecca, whose lineage is linked to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and receiving gifts from local communities and organizations. The journey also included a visit to the Clock Tower Museum, from whose terrace there was a view of the Kaaba, along with explanations of cosmic and astronomical phenomena mentioned in the Qur’an.

The pilgrimage was further enriched by cultural experiences — a desert camp between Mecca and Jeddah, quad bike rides, camel milking and tasting fresh camel milk, as well as a visit to a date farm in Medina.

For the participants, the Umrah journey became a deep spiritual and cultural experience, strengthening their sense of unity with the global Muslim community and broadening their understanding of Islamic history and culture. The Islamic Center is pleased to cooperate with the World Umrah program and is grateful for the opportunity to provide such an invaluable experience to Muslims in Lithuania.