Millions Take Part In Rites Of Hajj
Published 24 October 2012
Muslim pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from all over the world for one of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. More than 3 million people participate in the annual rites, which this year correspond approximately to October 24-29, during the last month of the Islamic calendar year. (21 PHOTOS)
1 The holy city of Mecca hosts the largest mass gathering in the world every year, as millions of Muslim pilgrims converge on the Grand Mosque to take part in one of the five pillars of Islam.
2 Many Muslims arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport at the Red Sea port city of Jeddah as believers from all over the world begin to arrive in Saudi Arabia. (AFP PHOTO/AMER HILABI)
3 Muslim pilgrims await prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on October 22, with their ranks swelled ahead of the official start of the hajj. (AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE)
4 Men walk their camels for sale at a cattle market in the outskirts of Faisalabad, Pakistan ahead of the hajj, which includes ritual sacrifice of cows, camels, sheep, and goats. (REUTERS/Fayyaz Hussain)
5 Pilgrims perform what's known as "tawaf al qudum," circling the Kaaba -- the holiest site in Islam -- seven times with upwards of 2 million people inside the Grand Mosque at any one time.
6 Pilgrims perform what's known as "tawaf al qudum," circling the Kaaba -- the holiest site in Islam -- seven times with upwards of 2 million people inside the Grand Mosque at any one time.
7 Pilgrims leave the area of the Grand Mosque, seen in the background, following evening prayers on October 23. (AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE)
8 Bosnian pilgrim Senad Hadzic, who began his nearly 6,000-kilometer march to Mecca in December, walks through the holy city on October 23. (AFP PHOTO/FAYEZ NURELDINE)
9 Pilgrims perform the noon prayer outside the Namera mosque in the plain of Arafat on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca on October 25.
10 Kyrgyz nationals on October 24 use temporary facilities set up for hajj pilgrims in Mecca. (Photo courtesy of Myktybek Arstanbek)
11 Muslim pilgrims perform the evening prayer near the Grand Mosque. (AFP PHOTO/MUSTAFA OZER)
12 Near the culmination of the hajj, pilgrims spend a day in supplication on the Plain of Arafat. Here, a Saudi police officer wearing a surgical mask during the flu-affected hajj of 2009, helps direct the foot traffic.
13 After a day of supplication the pilgrims arrive at Mount Arafat, southeast of Mecca.
14 They will spend the night at Mount Arafat. (AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS)
15 In addition to prayer, one of the things that pilgrims do on Mount Arafat is to collect pebbles for a ritual the following day, at Jamaraat. (PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS)
16 Seven pebbles are to be cast at any of three pillars during the ritual known as the stoning of the devil, in Mina near Mecca. (AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS)
17 The pelting with pebbles, which results in some of the densest crowds of the hajj, symbolizes defiance of Satan. (AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS)
18 A barber in Mina shaves the head of a pilgrim after the stoning of Satan ritual. (AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS)
19 A man tries to control a cow in the middle of a road while going to a cattle market in Lahore, Pakistan in anticipation of Eid al-Adha, the global festival of sacrifice to end the hajj period. (REUTERS/Mohsin Raza)
20 Muslim pilgrims arrive to throw pebbles at pillars during the Jamarat ritual -- the stoning of Satan -- in Mina near the holy city of Mecca on October 28.
21 Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at pillars during the Jamarat ritual -- the stoning of Satan -- in Mina near the holy city of Mecca on October 28.