‘Largest Hajj pilgrimage in history’ begins in Saudi Arabia

• “This yr, we are going to witness the most important Hajj pilgrimage in historical past,” says official.
•  1.6 million foreigners have already arrived within the kingdom by late Friday.
• “This yr not a single vacant mattress in our group of 67 motels,” says a businessman. 

Lots of of hundreds of Muslims from across the globe walked solemn circles across the Kaaba at Makkah’s Grand Mosque on Sunday to start the largest Hajj pilgrimage in a number of years.

Islam’s holiest website is anticipated to host greater than two million faithfuls from 160 nations throughout the annual rites that might break attendance information, with 1.6 million foreigners already arrived by late Friday.

“This yr, we are going to witness the most important Hajj pilgrimage in historical past,” if issues go in line with plan, predicted an official with the Saudi ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

“The numbers will exceed 2.5 million pilgrims,” added the official, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of he isn’t authorised to talk with the press.

The Hajj started early on Sunday with the “tawaf” — the circumambulation of the Kaaba that Muslims world wide pray in the direction of daily.

“I’m dwelling essentially the most lovely days of my life,” mentioned Saeed Abdel Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian performing the ritual. “The dream has come true,” added the retiree, who had saved for 20 years to pay the hundreds of {dollars} wanted to participate.

The Hajj is among the 5 pillars of Islam and have to be undertaken at the very least as soon as by all Muslims with the means.

A collection of rites are accomplished over 4 days in Makkah and its environment within the west of oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday afternoon, pilgrims began shifting to Mina, about 5 kilometres (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, forward of the Hajj’s climax at Mount Arafat. 

Mina, the world’s largest tent metropolis, readied to obtain the inflow of pilgrims, with meals provides introduced in and safety forces deployed across the space.

Extra worshippers are anticipated to go to Mina on Monday, as a vibrant environment takes maintain of the tented metropolis with the arrival of pilgrims by foot or through airconditioned buses.

‘Nice blessing’ 

Exterior the Grand Mosque, hundreds prayed on vibrant carpets that adorned the pavement, with male pilgrims sporting easy white robes. The world was dotted with ambulances, cellular clinics and fireplace vehicles.

The Hajj poses a substantial safety problem and has seen a number of disasters over time, together with a 2015 stampede that killed as much as 2,300 individuals.

There have been no main incidents since, and disaster was the very last thing on pilgrims’ minds.

“I can not describe my emotions,” mentioned Indonesian pupil Yusuf Burhan, 25. “This can be a nice blessing. I by no means imagined that I might carry out the Hajj this yr.”

This yr’s summer season timing for the Hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, is testing the endurance of the faithfuls throughout the largely outside ritual.

Carrying white umbrellas to defend themselves from the scorching solar, policemen within the mountainous metropolis have performed foot patrols and arrange checkpoints to examine Hajj permits.

Others splashed water on pilgrims as temperatures climbed in the direction of 45 levels Celsius (113 levels Fahrenheit).

Hundreds of paramedics had been on standby contained in the Grand Mosque. Saudi authorities mentioned greater than 32,000 well being employees will probably be readily available to deal with instances of heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion.

‘Not a single vacant mattress’

The Hajj, which prices at the very least $5,000 an individual, makes billions of {dollars} a yr for Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, which is making an attempt to diversify its economic system past fossil fuels.

This yr’s would be the largest since 2019, earlier than the COVID pandemic, when about 2.5 million individuals took half.

Solely 10,000 had been allowed in 2020, on the top of the worldwide outbreak, rising to just about 59,000 in 2021.

Final yr’s cap of 1 million has been eliminated.

Saudi businessman Samir al-Zafni mentioned all his motels in Makkah and Madinah are at full capability till the primary week of July.

“This yr there’s not a single vacant mattress in our group of 67 motels,” he instructed AFP.

The Hajj additionally demonstrates social reforms within the deeply conservative kingdom.

This yr’s pilgrimage would be the largest since Saudi Arabia scrapped guidelines in 2021 that banned girls who weren’t accompanied by a male family member.