São Paulo – More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Makkah by Tuesday (11), ahead of the start of the Hajj. The gathering 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 to do so. The pilgrimage officially begins on Friday.
Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj, approaching pre-pandemic levels, Arab News reported. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage.
A breakdown of the arrival data revealed that 1,48 million pilgrims arrived via air travel, while 59,273 pilgrims entered Saudi Arabia through land ports. Sea ports received nearly 5,000 pilgrims, state news agency SPA reported. The pilgrims included 4,200 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who arrived in Makkah earlier this month, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year, because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Pilgrims gather ahead of the Hajj
Pilgrims have thronged the Grand Mosque in Makkah, performing a ritual circuit walking seven times around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure inside the mosque that is considered Islam’s holiest site. Many were seen carrying umbrellas against the sun, in temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) during the day on Tuesday.
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Brazilians go on Hajj, the world’s largest pilgrimage
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
