MAKKAH
\nVast crowds of robed Muslim pilgrims walked solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Makkah\u2019s Grand Mosque, on Sunday as the biggest Haj pilgrimage in several years began in the heat of the Saudi summer.
\nIslam\u2019s holiest site is expected to host more than two million worshippers from 160 countries during the annual rites that could break attendance records, with 1.6 million foreigners already there by late Friday.
\n\u201cThis year, we will witness the largest Haj pilgrimage in history,\u201d if things go according to plan, predicted an official with the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah.
\n\u201cThe numbers will exceed 2.5 million pilgrims,\u201d added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak with the press.
\nThe Haj began early on Sunday with the \u201ctawaf\u201d \u2014 the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large cubic structure draped in black cloth with gold trimmings that millions of Muslims pray towards every day.
\n\u201cI am living the most beautiful days of my life,\u201d said Abdel-Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian, as he performed the ritual. \u201cThe dream has come true,\u201d added the retiree, who had saved up for 20 years to pay the $6,000 fee to take part.
\nThe Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims with the means.
\nA series of rites are completed over four days in Makkah and its surroundings in the west of oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
\nOn Sunday night, pilgrims will start moving to Mina, about five kilometres (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, ahead of the Haj\u2019s climax at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) is believed to have delivered his final sermon.
\nMina, the world\u2019s largest tent city, readied to receive the influx of pilgrims on Sunday, with food supplies brought in and security forces deployed around the area.
\nOutside the Grand Mosque, thousands prayed on colorful carpets that adorned the pavement, with male pilgrims wearing simple white robes. The area was dotted with ambulances, mobile clinics, and fire trucks.
\nThe Haj poses a considerable security challenge and has seen several disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 people.
\nThere have been no major incidents since, and catastrophe was the last thing on pilgrims\u2019 minds.
\n\u201cI cannot describe my feelings,\u201d said 25-year-old Indonesian student Yusuf Burhan. \u201cThis is a great blessing. I never imagined that I would perform the Haj this year.\u201d
\nThis year\u2019s summer timing for the Haj, which follows the lunar calendar, will test the endurance of worshippers during the mostly outdoor ritual.
\nCarrying white umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching sun, policemen in the mountainous city have conducted foot patrols and set up checkpoints to inspect Haj permits.
\nOthers splashed water on pilgrims as temperatures climbed towards 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
\nThousands of paramedics were on standby inside the Grand Mosque. Saudi authorities said more than 32,000 health workers will be on hand to treat cases of heatstroke, dehydration, and exhaustion.
\nThe Haj, with its hefty fees, makes billions of dollars a year for Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s biggest oil exporter, which is trying to diversify its economy beyond fossil fuels.
\nThis year\u2019s will be the biggest since 2019, before the Covid pandemic, when about 2.5 million people took part.
\nOnly 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the global outbreak, rising to nearly 59,000 in 2021.
\nLast year\u2019s cap of one million has been removed.
\nSaudi businessman Samir Al-Zafni said all his hotels in Makkah and Madinah are at full capacity until the first week of July.
\n\u201cThis year there is not a single vacant bed in our group of 67 hotels,\u201d he told AFP.
\nThe Haj also demonstrates social reforms in the deeply conservative country.
\nThis year\u2019s pilgrimage will be the biggest since Saudi Arabia scrapped rules in 2021 that banned women who weren\u2019t accompanied by a male relative.
\nLeaving the Grand Mosque after evening prayers on Friday, Ramot Ali from Niger struggled to describe the feeling of performing Haj for the first time, saying simply that \u201cI am very happy\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MAKKAH Vast crowds of robed Muslim pilgrims walked solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Makkah\u2019s Grand Mosque, on Sunday as the biggest Haj pilgrimage in several years began in the heat of the Saudi summer. Islam\u2019s holiest site is expected to host more than two million worshippers from 160 countries during the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-340003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n