Islam’s holiest site is expected to host more than 2 million worshipers from 160 countries for annual rites that could break attendance records, with 1. 6 million foreigners arriving on Friday night.
The haj began early Sunday with the “tawaf,” the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the giant cubic design covered in black cloth with gold ornaments to which millions of Muslims pray every day.
“I’m living the happiest days of my life,” said Abdel-Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian, as he performed the ritual.
“The dream came true,” said the retiree, who stored for 20 years to pay the $6,000 participation fee.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and should be performed by all Muslims with the means at least once.
A series of rites are performed over 4 days in and around Mecca in oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday evening, pilgrims will begin traveling to Mina, about five kilometers (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, before the highest point of the hajj on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his last sermon.
Outside the Grand Mosque, thousands of others prayed on colorful carpets adorning the sidewalk, with male pilgrims dressed in undisputed white robes. The domain was dotted with ambulances, mobile clinics and chimney trucks.
The hajj poses an abundant security challenge and has noticed several mistakes over the years, adding a stampede in 2015 that killed 2300 people.
There have been no major incidents since, and the crisis is the last thing on pilgrims’ minds.
“I can’t describe my feelings,” said Yusuf Burhan, a 25-year-old Indonesian student.
“It’s a wonderful blessing. I never imagined I would perform the hajj this year. “
This year’s summer calendar for the hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, will test the staying power of worshippers in the basically outdoor ritual.
Wearing white umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching sun, police officers in the mountain town conducted foot patrols and set up checkpoints to inspect hajj permits.
Others doused pilgrims with water as temperatures rose to forty-five degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
Inside the Grand Mosque, thousands of paramedics waited. The Saudi government has said more than 32,000 fitness staff members will be on site to combat heat stroke, dehydration and exhaustion.
The hajj, with its maximum tariffs, brings billions of dollars a year to the world’s largest oil exporter, which will diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.
This year will be the largest since 2019, when around 2. 5 million people participated. Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 in 2021. Last year’s one million limit was removed.
Saudi businessman Samir Al-Zafni said all his hotels in Mecca and Medina were at full capacity until the first week of July.
“This year there is a vacant single bed in our organization of 67 hotels,” he told AFP from his office.
The hajj also demonstrates social reforms in the deeply conservative country. This year’s pilgrimage will be the largest since Saudi Arabia in 2021 removed regulations banning women from being accompanied by a male relative.
Leaving the Grand Mosque after Friday night prayers, Niger’s Ramot Ali struggled to describe the feeling of performing the hajj for the first time.
“I’m very happy,” he said.
(AFP)