The annual Hajj pilgrimage officially began on Friday (14 June) as pilgrims made their way on foot and by bus to Mina camp at one of the largest tent cities in the world.
The Mina valley, about 5km east of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, is a 250-hectare open space covered by more than 100,000 air-conditioned tents that can accommodate more than 2.6 million people.
Saudi officials said more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims had arrived in the kingdom by Tuesday (13 June), the vast majority by plane, with more expected.
They were set to be joined by hundreds of thousands of Saudis and other pilgrims in the kingdom on Friday.
One 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.
Those undertaking the pilgrimage see it as an opportunity to strengthen their faith, wipe out old sins and start new.
The eighth day of Dhul Al Hijjah on Friday, when pilgrims first begin to arrive in Mina, is called Yawm Al Tarwiyah, or the day of irrigation, because of a tradition in which people carry water with them to the site in preparation for the Day of Arafat, when Muslims climb Mount Arafat.
During the day, pilgrims will walk seven times around the Kaaba for the welcoming tawaf – also called the circumambulation of the Kaaba – and kiss the black stone.
In the afternoon, they will head to the Safa and Marwah hills near the Kaaba, where they either run or walk seven times between the hills, to symbolically emulate the run of Prophet Ishmael’s mother Hajjar in search of water for her son.
Pilgrims will then spend the entire day on Friday until dawn in Mina, where they will prepare for the Day of Arafat, the most important day of the Hajj pilgrimage.
