Muslim pilgrims attend the annual Haj pilgrimage outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat, outside the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, yesterday.
A Muslim pilgrim prays on the Mount of Mercy at the plain of Arafat during the annual haj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Libyan pilgrim Abdel Latif Abdel Wahab (right) prays along with family members in Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, during the Haj pilgrimage, yesterday.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims crowded the Mount Arafat yesterday to pray at the height of an annual Haj pilgrimage.
As temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit), groups of white-clad worshippers recited Qur'anic verses on the hill.
Some took selfies under the clear burning sky before flocking down Mount Arafat after sunset, heading to nearby Muzdalifah where they will spend the night praying.
"I'm very happy. It's a moment I have been waiting for my entire life," said Fadia Abdallah, 67, from Egypt, wearing a white abaya and sitting on the ground beneath an umbrella.
The ritual at Arafat is the high point of the annual pilgrimage.
But yesterday, the kingdom's statistics authority said more than 1.8mn pilgrims had joined this year's rituals, making it the largest since the Covid-19 pandemic but still short of the more than 2.5mn that authorities expected.
The figures showed that most worshippers came from abroad to attend one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman arrived yesterday in Mina, where pilgrims slept in a city of white tents that spread out across the plain.
Prince Mohamed arrived to assess the well-being of worshippers and the quality of services provided there, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
The visit came as temperatures soared to their highest levels since the Haj started on Sunday.
The health ministry has recorded at least 287 cases of heat stroke and exhaustion since the start of Haj, state media said on Tuesday.
High temperatures have been a constant challenge for the pilgrims, who come from around the world, and yesterday was the Haj's most physically demanding day.
Helicopters hovered low overhead, monitoring crowds at the event.
Tree-shaped water towers sprayed cooling showers on the visitors, who received free water bottles and snacks handed out from large trucks.
Six field hospitals with more than 300 beds have been arranged in Arafat, Yasser Bair, a Saudi defence ministry official, told the state-run Al Ekhbariya TV.
"I can't believe I'm God's guest," said Rahma, a 57-year-old Libyan housewife who asked to be identified only by her first name, fighting back tears as she spoke.
Among the pilgrims are amputees from Syria, who rested, with their artificial limbs beside them, at a tent near Mount Arafat.
The pilgrimage is also a big revenue-earner for Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which is trying to diversify its economy, including with tourism.
Today, they will gather pebbles and hurl them at three concrete walls in the symbolic "stoning of the devil" ritual.
Then they will return to Makkah's Grand Mosque — Islam's holiest site — for a final circumambulation of the Kaaba, the giant cube that Muslims worldwide pray towards each day.
This year's Haj is the largest since Saudi authorities scrapped a requirement for women to be accompanied by a male guardian in 2021.
At this year's Haj, which follows the lunar calendar and is not always held in summer, a maximum age limit has also been removed, allowing thousands of elderly to attend.
American engineer Ahmed Ahmadine, 37, said he felt "blessed" to be able to take part.
"I try to focus on praying for my family and friends," he said. "This is an opportunity that will not be repeated."
