MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Nearly 3 million Muslims performed Saturday one of the most important rituals in the annual hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials said.
Clad in seamless white robes, the pilgrims climbed Mount Arafat, chanting: “We have come to answer your call, Allah.”
The mount, a granite hill to the east of the holy city of Mecca, is a place where Islam’s Prophet Mohammed is said to have delivered his farewell sermon to those who accompanied him on the hajj 14 centuries ago.
“The ascent of the mount went smoothly,” said Saudi Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabea.
He added that 36 pilgrims had died this year, mainly due to ailments related to old age. “This number is lower than last year,” the official said.
Scores of ambulances were parked in the area on Saturday as hundreds of security personnel were deployed.
“The civil defense forces carried out successfully a deployment plan to handle potential threats during the pilgrims’ climbing of Mount Arafat,” the chief of the Saudi Civil Defense Department Saad bin Abdullah said on Saturday.
At sunset, the pilgrims were descending from the mount to al-Muzdalifa, another holy site, where they were to spend the night.
Today, the pilgrims are to leave for the area of Minna, where they are to throw pebbles at pillars symbolizing the devil.
The stoning ritual coincides with Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, which starts today.
The Saudi Interior Ministry has estimated that around 1.82 million Muslims from 183 countries arrived in the kingdom to perform this year’s hajj.
To ease congestion in the holy sites, Saudi authorities operate a Chinese-built rail service that can transport around 72,000 people per hour.
The $2 billion metro line links Mecca with Minna and al-Muzdalifa, which lie along the route to Mount Arafat.
Over the past years, there have been fatal incidents during the hajj because of overcrowding, violence and fires. In 1987, Iranian pilgrims rioted, causing 400 deaths.
In 2006, about 346 pilgrims were killed in a stampede during the pebble-throwing ritual.
Muslims are required to perform the hajj at least once in their lifetimes.
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