MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia — More than 1.5 million Muslims will pray on Mount Arafat in soaring temperatures on Saturday, in the high-point and most grueling day of the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Worshippers from all over the world will climb the rocky, 70-meter hill, about 20 kilometers from Mecca, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon.The desert summer heat is expected to hit 43 degrees Celsius , creating challenges especially among the elderly during a day of prayer and reciting the Koran.The hajj, which takes at least five days to complete and is mostly outdoors, 'is not easy because it is very hot', said Abraman Hawa, 26, from Ghana.
Financial windfall The enormous crowds of worshippers spent the night in a giant tented city in Mina, a valley several kilometers outside Mecca, Islam's holiest city.Many of them were tightly packed in the air-conditioned tents, lying close together on narrow mattresses.They were grouped by nationality and price, depending on how much they had paid for their hajj packages -- usually several thousand dollars.
Pilgrims Pray On Mount Arafat In Hajj Climax
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