Makkah: More than two million Muslims from around the world began the Haj pilgrimage at Islam’s holiest sites Wednesday, a religious duty and an epic multi-stage journey.
On the esplanade of Makkah’s Grand Mosque, the excitement was palpable as crowds from all four corners of the world gathered for a pilgrimage that all able Muslims are required to perform at least once in their lives.
Tidjani Traore, a public service consultant from Benin, said he was on his 22nd pilgrimage at the age of 53.
“Every time, there are new emotions,” he said.
“There are new innovations for organising and hosting the pilgrims. Now, for example, the tents are air-conditioned.”
Wearing the simple garb of the pilgrim, the faithful waited at dawn with their suitcases for buses to take them to Mina five kilometres to the east.
There, hundreds of thousands will gather before setting off on Thursday at dawn to climb Mount Arafat, the pinnacle of the Haj.
First, however, they must perform a ritual walk known as the tawaf seven times around the Kaaba, a black masonry cube wrapped in a heavy silk cloth embroidered in gold with Koranic verses at the centre of Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
The shrine is the point towards which Muslims around the world pray. “I still have to finish the tawaf!” said a breathless Nour, 30, from Saudi Arabia as she rushed past without stopping.
Sitting on a folding chair in the middle of the esplanade, Risvana cradled her six-month-old baby who is accompanying her on the pilgrimage.
“I’ve planned everything for him,” said the young mother, pointing to a bottle of water in her bag.
