Turkish pilgrims to pay for trips to Mecca in Turkish Lira

The Turkish Religious Foundation has declared that Turkish Hajj and Umrah pilgrims will make the payments for their trip in Turkish lira.

The new implementation will become effective starting December 5, according to the Turkish sources.

The Diyanet's announcement followed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks urging Turkish citizens to convert their foreign exchange savings into lira or gold on Saturday.

The president's call received a vast, positive response among the Turkish businesses in the household goods industry.

The private sector also began backing the measures taken by the state, intending to tackle the sharp increase of foreign exchange within two days.

Private sector actors highlighted the significance of the encouraging measurements, calling investors to use the lira in both their financial and real sector transactions, as a support to the Turkish economy against the dollar.

The recent inevitable rise of the U.S. dollar compared to the Turkish lira has caused volatility in the Turkish economy, especially after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

The lira fell to a record low of 3.60 against the dollar on Dec. 2, before seeing some rebound after a general decline in the dollar in global markets.