A crowd surrounds the Kaaba as the annual Hajj begins in Saudi Arabia

First modification: 06/25/2023 – 11:59

Islam’s holiest site expects to receive more than 2 million worshipers from 160 countries for the annual ritual that could break attendance records. By Friday, 1.6 million foreigners had arrived at the site. The hajj began early Sunday with the “tawaf,” the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large, gold-edged, black-clad cubical structure toward which millions of Muslims pray daily.

“I am living the most beautiful days of my life,” Abdel Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian, declared while performing the ritual. “The dream has come true,” said the retired man, who saved for 20 years to pay the $6,000 fee to participate. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that every Muslim with sufficient resources must fulfill at least once in their life.

Rituals take place over four days in and around Mecca in western Saudi Arabia. By Sunday night, the pilgrims will begin advancing to Mina, about five km from the Grand Mosque, before the climax of the hajj on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon.

– “Great blessing” –

Outside the Grand Mosque, thousands pray on colorful rugs lining the pavement, with male pilgrims clad in white robes. The site has ambulances, mobile clinics and fire trucks. Hash is a major security challenge, and has seen numerous disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that left up to 2,300 dead.

Since then there have been no major incidents, and what pilgrims least expect is a catastrophe. “I can’t describe what I feel,” said Yusuf Burhan, a 25-year-old Indonesian student. “This is a great blessing, I never imagined doing the hajj this year.” Carrying white umbrellas to shield them from the scorching sun, police in the mountainous city conduct foot patrols and set up checkpoints to check hajj permits.

Others spray water on the pilgrims to cool them down in the temperature that reaches 45º C. Inside the Grand Mosque, thousands of paramedics are vigilant. The Saudi authorities assure that more than 32,000 health workers will be available to treat cases of heat stroke, dehydration and exhaustion.

– No vacancies –

Hash, with its expensive fees, rakes in billions of dollars a year for the world’s biggest oil exporter as it tries to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels. This year’s will be the largest since 2019, when some 2.5 million people participated. Only 10,000 were authorized in 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and it rose to almost 59,000 in 2021. Last year the limit of one million people was removed.

Saudi businessman Samir Al Zafni commented that all hotels in Mecca and Medina will be full until the first week of July. “This year there is not a single vacant bed in our group of 67 hotels,” he told AFP in his office.

The hajj also demonstrates the social reforms in the conservative country. This year’s pilgrimage will be the largest since Saudi Arabia lifted rules in 2021 that prevented women from participating without a male relative. Leaving the Grand Mosque after Friday afternoon prayers, Ramot Ali, from Niger, found no words to describe his first hajj. “I am very happy,” said the faithful African