Ar'ar - The border post between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, which thousands of pilgrims poured through yesterday, is little more than a artificial line in the desert.
On the Saudi side military vehicles patrolled the zone. The Iraqi side is patrolled by a handful of soldiers.
The 18,000 Iraqi pilgrims were granted visas from the Saudi authorities so that they could participate in the annual Muslim haj in Mecca, nearly 2,000 km away from the border. Saudi Arabia agreed to waive a $118 pilgrimage fee and King Fahd agreed to cover the costs of the haj, Saudi officials said.