Dubai: Close to 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia, the vast majority by air, so far for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials have said.
The kingdom is expecting more pilgrims to arrive before the start of the Hajj on Monday.
Pilgrims in white robes and sandals packed the ancient city, now dotted with luxury hotels and air-conditioned shopping malls, after flooding in on planes, buses and trains for the annual rites.
This year’s Hajj — one of the world’s biggest annual religious gatherings — could break attendance records, officials said.
“As the Hajj draws near, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepares... for the largest Islamic gathering in history,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al Rabiah said in a video.
What are the rites?
Rites during the Hajj include circling the Kaaba, the large black cube in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, praying on Mount Arafat and “stoning the devil” by throwing pebbles at three giant concrete walls representing Satan.
More than two million people from more than 160 countries will attend, Rabiah said — a dramatic increase on the 926,000 from last year, when numbers were capped at one million post-pandemic.
Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 a year later.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to undertake it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able.
The Saudi media ministry on Thursday said that more than 1.49 million foreign pilgrims had arrived through its international ports up to Wednesday, with 1.43 million travelling by air.
Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims in 2023 to reach pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, more than 2.5 million Muslims made the pilgrimage.
Travellers from around the world have been pouring into Jeddah’s modernised airport, some of them using streamlined visa services to disembark from planes straight onto buses to their accommodation.
How do pilgrims commute?
Some 24,000 buses will be in service to ferry the pilgrims, as well as 17 trains capable of moving 72,000 people every hour, officials said.
For the first time, the Saudi Transport General Authority (TGA) will introduce self-driving buses to assist pilgrims during this year’s Haj season.
The buses utilise artificial intelligence, cameras, and sensors to operate within designated routes. By collecting and analysing data during transit, the buses can make decisions to enhance passenger experience and ensure safety.
Each bus has an 11-seat capacity, can operate for 6 hours per charge, and has a top speed of 30 kilometres per hour. The move aims to streamline the movement of pilgrims
“It is an unbelievable feeling that is very emotional,” Souad bin Oueis, a 60-year-old Moroccan pilgrim, told AFP after arriving on her first visit to Saudi Arabia along with her husband.
How about women pilgrims?
This Hajj will be the biggest since the requirement for women to be accompanied by male guardians was dropped in 2021.
This year, the maximum age limit has also been scrapped, meaning thousands of elderly will be among those contending with Saudi summer temperatures that are expected to reach 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit).
The rituals begin late Sunday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The worshippers will sleep in tents on Monday night and spend Tuesday at Mount Arafat, the climax of the Hajj, where the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) is believed to have delivered his final sermon.
After casting pebbles in the “stoning of the devil” ritual on Wednesday, marking the start of the Eid Al Adha holiday, pilgrims return to Mecca to perform a farewell “tawaf” - circling seven times around the Kaaba.
What about medical help?
Mecca pilgrimages are a major source of income for Saudi Arabia, which is embarking on an ambitious plan to overhaul its largely oil-dependent economy. The Hajj and year-round umrah rituals generate an estimated $12 billion annually.
An expansion project that involves scaling up infrastructure and transport supporting Mecca and Medina, where two of Islam’s holiest sites are located, is a key part of the economic plan as the kingdom looks to increase visitor numbers.
This year’s summer timing for the hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, will test the endurance of worshippers during the four-day, mostly outdoor ritual.
More than 32,000 health workers will be on hand to help fend off heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion.
Ahead of the Hajj, security forces held a military parade in Mecca, including soldiers in full camouflage holding automatic weapons.
Umer Karim, a doctoral researcher focusing on Saudi foreign policy at Britain’s University of Birmingham, said hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi Arabia
