MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Despite the poor economic conditions in Egypt, some citizens go to expensive and inventive extremes to perform the fifth pillar of Islam — the pilgrimage to Mecca — with or without the proper documentation.

For this year's pilgrimage, Aug. 30-Sept. 4, Saudi Arabia granted 60,000 hajj visas to Egypt. The visas were distributed among three Egyptian ministries: Roughly 108,500 Egyptians competed for 36,000 visas allocated to the Ministry of Tourism; 50,000 competed for 12,000 visas held by the Ministry of Interior; and about 40,000 vied for 12,000 visas from the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The ministries cover the expenses of the selected pilgrims, including hotel accommodations, transportation and meals. There were also 1,000 visas issued for journalists.

But among the many citizens who weren't able to obtain those visas, some turned to other means.

Some Egyptians paid for visas that were supposed to be free. A large number of Egyptian parliament members are being investigated for allegedly selling the hajj visas they were granted from Saudi Arabia — which this year amounted to 18,000, enough for three for each of the 596 members. They supposedly sold the visas to tourism agencies for 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,830) each. These agencies then sold the visas to pilgrims. A parliamentary investigation into this practice is now underway, and members found guilty will be referred to the parliamentary Ethics Committee and face sanctions.