Muslim pilgrims have converged on a vast tent camp in the desert near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, officially beginning the annual Hajj. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Mecca so far. They expect the number to exceed participation last year, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj.
Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia ’s holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. A woman holds an umbrella to protect herself from the sun as she leaves after offering prayers outside at the Grand Mosque, during during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca , Saudi Arabia , Thursday, June 13, 2024.
“We are deprived of Hajj because the crossing is closed, and because of the raging wars and destruction,” said Amna Abu Mutlaq, a 75-year-old Palestinian woman from Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis who had planned to perform Hajj this year. “They deprived us from everything.”traveling to Mecca on direct flights from Damascus for the first time in more than a decade. The move was part of an ongoing thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and conflict-stricken Syria.
Male pilgrims wear an ihram, two unstitched sheets of white cloth that resemble a shroud, while women dress conservative, loose-fitting clothing with headscarves, and forgo makeup and perfume. They have been doing the ritual circuit around the cube-shaped Kaaba, counter-clockwise in the seven-minaret Grand Mosque since arriving in Mecca over recent days.
On Friday, the pilgrims made their way to Mina, officially opening the Hajj. They then will move for a daylong vigil Saturday on Mount Arafat, a desert hill where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his final speech, known as the Farewell Sermon. Healthy pilgrims make the trip on foot, others use bus or train.
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More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageMuslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale.
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More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageMuslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Mecca so far.
Read more »
More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageMuslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale.
Read more »
More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageMuslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale
Read more »
More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageMuslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale
Read more »
More than 1.5M Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimageOne of the world’s largest religious gatherings, the Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All Muslims are required to undertake it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so.
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