Forging a Russian Hajj Route 109Figure 3.5. Hajj passport. Created in
1903 by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs for Muslims making the
pilgrimage to Mecca. In five
languages: Russian, French, Persian,
Tatar, and Ottoman Turkish.
(Courtesy of kasanof.livejournal.
com)
which were equipped with medical-inspection stations to screen them for dis-
ease before their reentry into the empire. The minister announced approved
points of reentry: on the Black Sea, the Feodosiia quarantine and Batumi mari-
time medical-inspection station; on the Caspian Sea, the Baku maritime
medical-inspection stations; and on the border of the trans-Caspian region
with Persia, the medical-inspection station in Gaudan. Finally, the new rules
required governors to inspect pilgrims’ passports upon their return. Those
found to be without a stamp from border sanitary officials were to be subjected
to medical screening by local authorities.^69 In November 1903 Pleve sent out a
circular to all governors in the Russian Empire that informed them of the new
laws governing Muslim pilgrimage, and ordered them to apply them.^70
H av i n g established new laws that aimed to organize and document the hajj
traffic along the Black Sea routes, Pleve next returned to the important issue
of transport. In late 1903 he created a special commission to discuss the