Annual Haj reaches peak at Arafat

SAUDI ARABIA:

Some two million Muslim pilgrims descended Monday from Mount Arafat, concluding the highlight of the Haj and beginning a slow trip back to Mecca to finish the annual pilgrimage.

White-robed pilgrims began arriving in Muzdalifah, their first stop after leaving Mount Arafat and its plain, site of the Prophet Mohammed's last sermon.

Many unauthorised pilgrims who had camped out on the pavements in the Arafat area trekked the few kilometres on foot and pitched their tents in Muzdalifah.

Pilgrims traditionally collect pebbles at Muzdalifah for the next day's symbolic "stoning of the devil" in Mina.

The ritual, on the day of Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice, has been marked in the past by deadly stampedes, but the Saudi authorities have expanded the site to several levels to make it safer.

Monday's ceremonies saw pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain from early morning.

Chanting the Talbiyah - "O God, here we come, answering your call" - they set off before dawn for the hilltop that dominates the plain of Arafat. Muzdalifah, Tuesday, AFP