Date Posted: Monday, January 09, 2006

Pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat during the peak of the hajj to offer prayers.

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia, Jan 9 (MASNET & News Agencies) - Over two million Muslim pilgrims started moving at sunrise towards Mount Arafat to perform the central rite of hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

In the aftermath of the death of 76 people on Thursday in the collapse of an aging hostel in the heart of Mecca, a senior Saudi official said the kingdom has prepared itself to deal with major potential emergencies during the hajj including fires, stampedes, torrential rain, food poisoning, terror acts and even chemical attacks, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Although some pilgrims, especially Egyptians, had arrived in Arafat the day before, the great majority flocked from the valley of Mina, to the north, where they had spent the night huddled under tents or camped out on the streets with their mats and blankets.

Tracing a journey made by the Prophet Mohammed (saw) more than 1,400 years ago, pilgrims gathered Monday for an emotional assembly in Arafat, a small plain some 800 feet above sea level surrounded by mountains on all sides to pray for a safe hajj after the hostel collapse and warnings of a possible spread of deadly bird flu.

They prayed for mercy and forgiveness at the scene of the prophet's last sermon and in a place where some believe Adam and Eve reunited after they were banished by God from paradise, according to the Bible.

Muslims believe God will hear their prayers if they are made within the sacred zone of Mount Arafat, reports Reuters news agency.

Many pilgrims cried as they offered prayers - overcome with emotion during what is for most a once-in-a-lifetime journey to their faith's most holy places, a pilgrimage they believe cleanses them of sin, reports the Associated Press (AP).

While pilgrims continued their prayers outside the mosque, many held out hands to help others climb the mount, a rugged hill. Men and women, otherwise not allowed to mix in the conservative kingdom, jostled against one another, the news agency reports.

At the top, the pilgrims pushed and shoved to get near enough to embrace a sacred pillar. Some paused to photograph the occasion.

The rite of wuquf, or standing, before sunset on Arafat is the high point of the hajj and without which it would be considered incomplete.

More than 1.55 million foreign pilgrims of 177 nationalities are taking part, up 1.2 percent from the previous pilgrimage, deputy interior minister Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz said in a statement.

"This does not include Saudis, foreigners living in Saudi, and pilgrims coming on their own outside the tours," interior ministry spokesman Major General Mansur al-Turki said on Sunday, suggesting that an estimate of 2.5 million may be close.

He said the exact number would only be known on Tuesday when pilgrims begin flocking back to Mina to perform the hajj's most dangerous ritual, involving the stoning of three pillars symbolizing Satan's powers.

"This year we drafted a special plan to channel pilgrims to jamarat," said Turki using the Arabic term for the pillars.

He said pedestrian traffic would move on three main roads while two new tunnels were added to transport pilgrims in buses to the area, which has been the scene of several tragedies such as a stampede in 2004 that killed 251 and another in 1990 that killed 1,426.

Almost 60,000 security, health, emergency and other personnel are involved in organizing the hajj this year, trying to make sure none of the deadly incidents that have marred it in recent years are repeated.

In addition, 14 hospitals and dozens of clinics and field facilities are ready to deal with any contingency.

"We have specified in our plan 12 major emergencies that may occur during the hajj," said General Adel Zamzami, civil defense chief for the western region.

Health experts have warned the huge crowds could create the conditions for a pandemic strain of bird flu to emerge, reports Reuters

Saudi Arabia says it has spent 25 million riyals ($6.7 million) on Tamiflu, a drug that can reduce the severity of the current bird flu strain if taken within days of symptoms appearing, the news agency reports.

Highlighting the challenges authorities face each year in managing the massive gathering, police officers were driving around Mina late Sunday pleading with pilgrims on loudspeakers to get off the streets to prevent overcrowding.

Amid a sea of humanity, Mohammed al-Hakami, 27, sat outside a blue and red nylon tent set up on the median of one of Mina's main roads.

He came from the southern Saudi province of Jizan six hours away with his 90-year-old father, who is diabetic and suffers from high blood pressure.

"I am afraid for him but he insisted on coming," said Hakami, as the old man lay on a cardboard box nearby.

A day earlier, pilgrims from across the globe trekked eight miles through the nearby valley of Mina for the start of rituals, which reached their climax Monday. As they walked under the blistering sun, the crowd chanted "Labaik Alluhumma Labaik!" ("We are coming answering your call, God!"), reports the AP.

Saudi, meanwhile, authorities replaced the cover of the Kaaba with a new one Monday, an annual ritual at Mecca's Great Mosque. The black cover, called Kiswa, is made of about 658 square yards of silk weighing 1,475 pounds and embroidered with 33 pounds of gold thread. The new Kiswa cost $4.7 million, the news agency reports.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for all devout, able-bodied Muslims with the means for the journey.