Soekarno Tree in the Arafah field of Mecca

Muslims certainly know that Padang Arafat in Mecca is a gathering place for pilgrims from around the world during the Hajj season to make a visit. The air there is very hot, during the daytime the temperature in Padang Arafat can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

However, since 1960 Padang Arafat looks green because of a row of trees that thrive. The tree is mindi tree or the people of Mecca prefer to call it the name Sukarno tree.

  Yups, as they are called, this tree is the gift of the first RI Predisen, Soekarno. At that time, Sukarno was carrying out the Hajj. But because it was too hot, the proclamator also advised the King of Saudi Arabia, Saud bin Abdulaziz al Salad to plant trees along Padang Arafat.

Padang Arafah now looks green (Instagram / taufiqduffel)
After returning to his homeland, he instructed his staff to bring mindi tree seeds to Saudi Arabia. This tree, named Latin Melia Azedarach, was finally planted in 1,250 hectares of land in Arafah using fertile land from Indonesia and Thailand.

Arafat itself is a desert located 25 kilometers east of the city of Mecca. Arafat is very arid with very hot temperatures. The buildings that are there are very few, lucky now the government of Saudi Arabia has prepared tents and water coolers for pilgrims.
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Pohon Mindi in Padang Arafah (kemenag.go.id)
The selection of mindi trees is also made without cause. These many branched trees can grow in the tropics to subtropics. The growth is also short, in just two years the mindi tree height has reached 4 to 5 meters.

At present, the mindi tree or the Soekarno tree is the antidote to the aridity of Padang Arafat. In fact, you can also see mindi trees in other places in Saudi Arabia. This tree is also proof that Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have extraordinary closeness. (*)https://helloindonesia.id/category/history/pahlawan/

 In addition to this article, you can also read the Story Behind the Proclamation, You Must Know