MOUNT ARAFAT: Pilgrims from around the world were arriving yesterday at Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia for the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Saudi authorities say close to 1.4 million believers have come from 163 nations for Haj. The faithful streamed out of the holy city of Makkah heading for the nearby Mina valley, where most would wait until the early hours today before gathering at the hill known as Mount Arafat for the peak of Haj, a day of prayer and recitations from the Holy Quran.
Some had already reached Mount Arafat. Among them was Iman Izzidine, 42, who has fled Syria’s civil war. “I thank God for this indescribable feeling” of being in the holy land. Mount Arafat is where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave his final sermon after leading his followers on the Haj.
Hundreds of pilgrims arriving at Mount Arafat carried suitcases and other luggage among thousands of white tents which stood ready on a vast plain to provide temporary homes for the multitude. Elderly pilgrims sat in wheelchairs, little ones in prams, and others leaned on sticks as they made their way towards their camps.
Many pilgrims set up their own colourful tents while others simply placed rugs among the shrubs and slept. The movement of pilgrims to Mina marked the official start of Haj on the eighth day of Dhul Hijja yesterday.
Security has not noticeably increased around the holy sites, but witnesses observed three checkpoints between Jeddah and Makkah, where security officers verify that visitors hold Haj permits. Eighteen aircraft and Black Hawk helicopters will patrol and be on standby for emergencies, Arab News reported.
Supplementing the 85,000 security and civil defence officers who are deployed for Haj are thousands of health workers. The medical staff are striving to protect pilgrims from Ebola and the MERS coronavirus. No Ebola cases have yet been found in the kingdom.
AFP
