...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat Frational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...said Sunday that the corpse count of Hajj pilgrims has climbed past 1,300 as they performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat and most of the dear departed did not have official permits.
Gathered to the bosom of Allen.
"Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301, with 83% being unauthorised to perform Hajj and having walked long distances under direct sunlight, without adequate shelter or comfort," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The dear departed pilgrims belonged to more than 10 countries, ranging from the United States to Indonesia, and some governments are still updating their figures.
According to Arab diplomats last week, Egyptians accounted for 658 deaths, among whom 630 were unregistered pilgrims.
They said that the cause of death in most cases was heat-related as temperatures in Makkah this year climbed as high as 51.8°C, according to Saudi Arabia's national meteorological centre.
Riyadh had not publicly commented on the deaths or provided its own toll until Sunday.