Hajj returns to maximum capacity after COVID-19

28/06/2023

TOPSHOT - Muslim pilgrims crowd Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

A Muslim pilgrim prays atop Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

Muslim pilgrims pray atop Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. The ritual is the high point of the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, that officials say could be the biggest on record after three years of Covid restrictions. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

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Muslim pilgrims in Makkah circled the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, and then converged on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert, officially opening the annual Hajj pilgrimage, returning to its maximum capacity for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

So far, more than 1.8 million pilgrims from all over the world have already amassed in and around Makkah for the Hajj, and the number was still growing as more pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia joined, said a spokesman for the Saudi Hajj Ministry, Ayedh al-Ghweinim.

Authorities say they expect this year to approach pre-COVID levels of more than two million. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to make the five-day Hajj at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do it.

(Agencies)

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28/06/2023