Saudi Arabia is hosting the first full-scale hajj since the pandemic. The Hajj was expected to draw a record number of pilgrims.
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However, this year the number of pilgrims totaled more than 1.8 million worshippers, a significant decrease from the nearly 2.5 million visitors to the holy places in 2019, according to the Saudi Arabian Office of Statistics.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and should be performed by all Muslims who have the means at least once in their lives. A special terminal was built at Jeddi Airport to receive pilgrims.
In 2021, the Saudi authorities removed the requirement that women be accompanied on the Hajj by a guardian husband.
One of the last obligatory rituals for pilgrims was the symbolic stoning of Satan in the Mina Valley east of Mecca. At dawn, hundreds of thousands of people went to the holy place to recreate an episode from the life of the prophet Ibrahim, who, according to the Koran, drove the devil away with stones when he refused to sacrifice his son.
Then the believers once again performed the tawaf ritual or bypassing the Kaaba in the courtyard of the Al-Haram mosque.
The holiday of the end of the Hajj – Eid al-Adha or the “Day of Sacrifice” – is celebrated all over the world. In Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians gathered for prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Yemeni pilgrims were able to perform the Hajj for the first time in about seven years. In 2015, a civil war broke out there. Pilgrims from rebel-held Sana’a were able to fly to Saudi Arabia on a dedicated plane.
The pilgrims faced intense heat, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. Tens of thousands of Saudi workers and volunteers handed out water bottles. Some pilgrims fled from the sun under umbrellas.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.