Indonesian pilgrims who had returned to the country until Thursday at 08:53 or 12:53 when Saudi Arabia WIB reach 38,897 people. The amount is 19.47 percent from the previous estimate, which is 199,693 people.
"Jemaah who will go home each day will continue to grow, after they finish running the whole worship in Mecca and Medina. We have quite a number of members of the congregation who were still in Medina and Mecca," said Evi Al Hudhori, Section Chief Haji Integrated Computerized Systems ( Siskohat) Ministry of Religious Affairs, Thursday (17/11/2011) in Mecca.
He said that since 11 November, members of Indonesian pilgrims gradually returned to the country. They are pilgrims who come to Saudi Arabia in wave I. Pilgrims returning to Indonesia, he said, will continue to happen every day until the entire congregation arrived back in the country.
Most pilgrims who have arrived in the country arrived at the debarkation JKS (Jakarta / West Java) 6739 people, debarkation SOC (Solo) 6734 people, and debarkation SUB (Surabaya) 6701 people. According to Evi, Indonesia congregation who are now returning to the country is already running worship in Medina and run Arbain in the Prophet's Mosque, and has been in Saudi Arabia for 40 days.
Indonesian pilgrims to the country using the two airlines, namely Garuda Indonesia and Saudi Airlines. Meanwhile, the pilgrims who died, according to Evi, up to date as many as 327 people.
Heart attack and acute respiratory infections (ARI) became the leading cause of pilgrims died during his stay in Saudi Arabia, while running a pilgrimage.
This statement was made Head of Health Panita Hajj Organizers Mawari Dr. Edy in Jeddah on Wednesday (11/16/2011).
"Before the peak of the Hajj, pilgrims who died of heart disease dominated. After the peak of the Hajj, pilgrims began to emerge died due to respiratory problems," said Mawari.
Based on data from Haji Integrated Computerized Systems (Siskohat) pilgrims who died at 12.00 pm until time of Saudi Arabia (WAS) or 16:00 pm reached 302 people.
Both the disease appears to be related to excessive physical activity that made the audience. Whereas on the one hand, the condition of the body assembly does not support.
"Mainly, after the peak of the pilgrimage in Armina (Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina), the condition of the assembly decreases as dense enough physical activity. However, they sometimes force myself to do the Sunnah of worship, such as the pilgrimage up to two times a day," he said.
According Mawari, the condition of the body still needs recovery after physical activity, and this fact is that sometimes do not realize the assembly. They still force myself to move out of accommodation. As a result, the condition of their bodies drop and point toward a critical, life-threatening.
"We hope to measure the ability of self-assembly, and do many activities outside the guest-house," said Mawari.
Section Head of the Regional Health Working Mecca Mecca Alfarisi Thafsin dr said pascapelaksanaan worship fatigue factor in Armina be one cause of the high pilgrims who died. These activities do require a lot of energy.
"Should a congregation that fall into the category of high risk (RisTI) reduces the activity outside the lodge, such as forcing yourself to worship at the Haram," he said.
He was not banned and can understand the desire many people who want to worship in the Haram. However, should they also can measure the physical ability.
A total of 302 members of the pilgrims died, the assembly is dominated by the age of 60 years and over. Noted there are 216 members of the congregation in that age category who died. For ages 50-59, 70 members of the congregation died, aged 40-49 (13 people), and below 40 years and two members of the congregation.
Hajj junket: Iraqis stew as officials go to hajj
The Muslim pilgrimage of hajj is a moment of equality before God, with millions massed at Islam's most revered sites asking for forgiveness of sins. Of course, some are more equal than others.
At VIP tents, Iraqi lawmakers and politicians in their white pilgrim robes enjoyed the luxury of soft red carpets and air conditioning, fruit baskets set up on long tables and two refrigerators with cold water and soft drinks. It's conveniently right next to the Jamarat, the site of three walls symbolizing the devil that pilgrims lined up to pelt with stones on Monday.
It's a stark contrast from the camp of their fellow citizens, several miles (kilometers) away, where Iraqi pilgrims crowd into stuffy tents and take hours to make their way on foot through the hot Saudi sun to reach the ritual site.
"The officials are staying at the best places with best services while we are suffering here," said Abbas Abid Ali, a 60-year-old Shiite from Baghdad. He sat on a green plastic mattress after sunset near the Jamarat, where he and others spent the day after trekking from their camp.
"Will these officials get the same treatment on Judgment Day?" he said. "God doesn't differentiate and care about officials and rich people."
Several million Muslims have converged on Saudi Arabia for this year's annual hajj, centered around the holy city of Mecca and several sites in the deserts nearby. During the current part of the rites, the pilgrims stay for several nights in a gigantic tent city sprawling around the Jamarat at Mina, about 11 miles (18 kilometers) outside Mecca, and for three days pelt the walls with stones in a symbolic rejection of the devil's temptations.
Like everywhere, money can buy better conditions for the tiring hajj rites, such as better transport to avoid walking in the massive crowds or more comfortable tents. But some complain that political status also wins special consideration.
Iraqi politicians, for example, get a leg up on even getting the precious, limited spaces to attend hajj. While other Iraqis have to go through a lottery to go, sometimes waiting for years, members of parliament or the government can jump the line and go whenever they want.
"They are taking the right of other Iraqi people who are hoping and waiting patiently for this journey," said Qassim Nasser Missaid, who finally got his chance to go because Iraq dedicates some hajj spots for former political prisoners. Missaid had spent 10 years in prison under Saddam Hussein's regime.
Since so many Muslims around the world want to attend hajj each year, Saudi Arabia imposes a quota for each country, in proportion to its population. That means in most countries, demand far exceeds supply. Arab governments and others often use a lottery system to determine who gets to go. Iraq's allotment is about 33,000 people - but its politicians are allowed to take some of those spaces without going through the lottery.
And so this year, more than half of Iraq's 325-member parliament put in to go on the pilgrimage with the government's Hajj and Umrah Commission, which over sees the process. A senior official at the commission put the number at 192. He added that roughly 600 government officials or their families are also going.
"Yes, that's embarrassing to us," the official told The Associated Press in an interview in his office. "But what can we do or say? We are under enormous pressure from these parties." He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The head of the commission, Mohammed Taqi al-Mawla, threatened to resign earlier this year because he said he was under pressure to give 6,000 extra spaces given to Iraq by Saudi Arabia for this hajj to political blocs and not to the general public.
"Lawmakers should be thinking about the delayed laws rather than going to hajj," said Talal al-Zubaie, a parliament member who said he is not going to hajj and was critical of those running off to the pilgrimage.
"If everybody is going to hajj, I wonder why we have such large number of corruption cases in this country? With the large number of officials going to hajj, we should be the least corrupt country in the world," he added.
Transparency International, an international organization which monitors perceptions of corruption, ranked Iraq 175 out of 178 countries in its 2010 rankings.
Iraq is not alone in this problem. Other Arab countries don't necessarily allow politicians to opt out of the lottery system, but there are frequent reports of officials pulling strings to get themselves a spot.
In 2006 in Indonesia, a former religious affairs minister was convicted of embezzling about $76 million from a fund to help people go on the hajj. His successor scrapped a government policy to pay all hajj costs for government officials, legislators and community leaders. But people were outraged when last year a group of more than 60 legislators, their relatives and staff went on a fully paid "working visit" to Mecca during the holy month.
Similar allegations mar the hajj in Pakistan, where the former religious affairs minister is in prison, facing corruption charges related to hajj expenses.
One Iraqi lawmaker who did make the pilgrimage defended his right to go. A parliament member, he said, "is doing a hard job mostly at midnight. He is a target for the terrorists, and then going to hajj with his own money." He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the controversy over lawmakers going.
But for many Iraqis the fact that lawmakers are able to get preference on the trip and are going during such a crucial time when so many issues concerning Iraq's future still need to be resolved, leaves a bad impression.
Abu Abdullah al-Obeidi put his name into the lottery in 2008 and is scheduled to go next year with his wife for the first time. He said the government figures are supposed to serve the people but instead he feels like the people serve them.
"They do not care about the interests of the country because their personal interests are the top priority," he said.
Massive throng of pilgrims begin hajj
More than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims began yesterday the rites of the annual hajj pilgrimage, leaving the holy city of Makkah for Mount Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final hajj sermon. Dressed in white, they flooded the streets as they headed towards Mina, around five kilometres east of the holy mosque. The day is known as Tarwiah (Watering) Day, as pilgrims traditionally watered their animals and stocked water for their trip to Mount Arafat, some 10 km further on. Many pilgr
ims took buses, while others set off on foot for a village that comes to life for just five days a year.
Others were using the Mashair Railway, also known as Makkah Metro, to go to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plains where they will gather for the peak Day of Arafat today. The Chinese-built railway will operate for the first time this year at its full capacity of 72,000 people per hour to ease congestions and prevent stampedes in which hundreds have been killed in past years.
The dual-track light railway connects the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat - areas that see massive congestion during the five-day pilgrimage. It will replace 30,000 cars previously used, said project director Fahd Abu-Tarbush. "The train this year is restricted to the pilgrims coming from inside Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, as well as 200,000 pilgrims coming from south Asia," Tarbush told AFP. "Mashair Railway will transport 500,000 pilgrims from Mina, passing by Muzdalifah, reaching
to Arafat, in addition to one million pilgrims on the Tashreeq days," which are on the 11th, 12th and 13th of the Muslim month of Dhul Hijjah.
Around 1.7 million Muslims descended on Makkah from around the world while between 700,000 and 800,000 pilgrims are coming from inside Saudi Arabia. The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all those who are able to make the journey, and it is a dream that can take years to come true. "To me, this is a miracle. I've been dreaming of going to hajj for years, and this dream is now being fulfilled," 67-year-old Nigerian pilgrim Salahuldin Mohammed told
AFP. Another pilgrim, 58-year-old Mohammed Sadoreen from the Palestinian territories, said: "I couldn't believe the day has come when I would see this sacred place. This is the first time I come to hajj.
The hajj will end tomorrow with Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. Coping with the world's largest annual human assembly poses a security headache for Saudi Arabia - guardian of the two holiest Muslim shrines in the cities of Makkah and Madinah, the birth places of Islam. Saudi authorities have numbered the buses and tents in Mina according to the countries from which the pilgrims have come to prevent chaos. The oil kingpin has invested billions of dollars over the years to avoid deadly stampedes that
have marred the hajj in the past.
In Jan 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the entrance to a bridge leading to the stoning site in Mina, outside Makkah, while 251 were trampled to death in 2004. In July 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or suffocated in a stampede in a tunnel, also in Mina. The deaths prompted authorities to dismantle the old bridge and replace it with a multi-level one with one-way lanes to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims. Saudi Arabia also launched a new $10.6-billion project for a new extension
to Makkah's Grand Mosque to increase its capacity to two million worshippers. "We haven't faced any problems. I didn't expect all these services to be available," said 55-year-old pilgrim Abdulhadi Badran.
Iran's Shiite pilgrims are another headache Saudi authorities are faced with during hajj season. However, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has dismissed any threat from pilgrims coming from Iran, despite rising tension between Tehran and Riyadh over an alleged Iranian plot to kill the Saudi envoy to Washington and past confrontations. "The Iranians have always shown their respect for the hajj," he said. A total of 97,000 Iranians - the maximum allowed for Iran under a Saudi system apportioning pilgrim quo
tas among the world's biggest Muslim countries - are in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, Iranian media said Monday.
We hope this year's hajj (pilgrimage) will take place in a very calm and spiritual atmosphere," the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the pilgrimage, Hojatoleslam Ali Ghazi Asgar, said last week. Saudi security forces have several times in the past confronted Iranian pilgrims holding anti-US and anti-Israeli protests. In 1987, Saudi police efforts to stifle such a demonstration sparked clashes in which 402 people died, including 275 Iranians. An Iranian official told AFP th
at Iranian pilgrims are this year going to hold their demonstrations within the boundaries of their own camps as they did in the past few years, to avoid confrontations with Saudi security forces.
Muslims gather on Arafat for peak hajj day
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Nov-05/153260-muslims-gather-on-mount-arafat-for-peak-hajj-day.ashx#ixzz1dzSfqwDp
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
More than two million Muslims gathered Saturday on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain, marking the peak day of the hajj, the world's largest annual pilgrimage.
Dressed in white garments, the pilgrims filled the Namera Mosque in Arafat and the nearby streets and camps for collective prayer, led by Saudi Arabia's top cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh.
"Islam is the solution for the problems" of Muslims, he said in a speech before the prayer began, warning the faithful of "a media and cultural invasion that seeks to weaken (their) faith."
He urged Muslims to solve their problems "without interference from their enemies," condemning those who want to "provoke hostility between you and your leaders."
This year's hajj coincides with the Arab Spring democracy protests that have swept many nations in the region and led to the ouster of the autocratic leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Saudi Arabia has been spared the unrest despite small-scale, sporadic Shiite-led protests that took place in its Eastern Province, which the Sunni-majority kingdom quickly controlled.
There were no immediate reports of major incidents as security officials focused on crowd control.
"Things are going well and according to plans," interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP.
Many went on buses, while others set off on foot from Mina, a tent-village that comes to life only during the five-day pilgrimage.
Others took the Mashair Railway, also known as the Mecca Metro, to go to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plains, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon.
The Chinese-built railway is operating for the first time this year at its full capacity of 72,000 people per hour to ease congestion and prevent stampedes in which hundreds have been killed in past years.
The dual-track light railway connects the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat -- areas that see a massive influx of pilgrims during the hajj.
After sunset, pilgrims move to Muzdalifah, half way between Mount Arafat and Mina, to spend the night.
On Sunday, they return to Mina after dawn prayers for the first stage of the symbolic "stoning of the devil" and to make the ritual sacrifice of an animal, usually a lamb with the beginning of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.
On the remaining three days of the hajj, the pilgrims continue the ritual stoning before performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba shrine in Mecca and then heading home.
However, the gathering in the plains around Mount Arafat symbolises the climax of the hajj.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all those who are able to make the journey, and it is a dream that can take years to come true.
Mukhtar al-Rahman, who is more than 100 years of age, told AFP that "this is the dream of my life which took a century to come true."
"The crowds have tired me and as you can see I can't stand properly because of the huge crowds flooding" into the area, the elderly Bengali said panting as he looked for a small chair to sit on.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Noor Laila said: "I'm so happy to have set foot on Arafat's sacred soil."
"I want to wash away all my sins and ask God to forgive my mistakes. This is the first time I come to hajj and I hope it won't be the last," said the 36-year-old.
Malaysian Abdullah Wali al-Deen, 45, said he had been working for years for this day.
"I came here with my family after we managed to save enough money," he said.
"Everyone in here is equal. There are no differences between various nationalities. This is the religion of peace, love and brotherhood."
More than 1.83 million pilgrims have arrived in the kingdom from abroad, marking a 1.5 percent increase from last year, said Mecca governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.
Several hundred thousand Saudis and foreign residents in the kingdom were also granted permits to join them, he added.
Coping with the world's largest annual human assembly poses a security headache for Saudi Arabia -- guardian of the two holiest Muslim shrines in the cities of Mecca and Medina, the birth places of Islam.
To help prevent chaos, the authorities have numbered buses and tents in Mina and Arafat according to the countries from which the pilgrims have come.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars over the years to avoid deadly stampedes that have marred the hajj in the past.
In January 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the entrance to a bridge leading to the stoning site in Mina, outside Mecca, while 251 were trampled to death in 2004.
In July 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death or suffocated in a stampede in a tunnel, also in Mina.
The deaths prompted authorities to dismantle the old bridge and replace it with a multi-level walkway with one-way lanes to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia also launched a new $10.6-billion project for a new extension to Mecca's Grand Mosque to increase its capacity to two million worshippers.
For the first time this year, the hajj is being streamed live on video-sharing website YouTube in cooperation with the Saudi government.
Over 2 million pilgrims to conclude Hajj; Eid tomorrow
A sea of pilgrims estimated to be 2.5 million in number, including 100,000 from India, converged on the vast plains of Arafat in Saudi Arabia for the final day of the annual Hajj on Sunday.
Wearing white seamless robes, the millions of Muslims from every part of the world, started descending on the plains of Mount Arafat early yesterday after spending the night in the city of Mina, that lies 10 kms from Arafat.
The people took buses or the new Mecca Metro and some even came on foot to flock to Arafat where Prophet Mohammad delivered his famous final sermon.
The Chinese built Metro is operating for the first time this year at its full capacity of 72,000 people per hour to ease congestion and avoid stampedes which have previously killed hundreds.
The gathering on Arafat symbolises the peak of the pilgrimage which concludes with Eid al-Azha that will be celebrated tomorrow.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a duty of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to perform it.
Pilgrims in white seamless clothes started heading for Arafat early yesterday after finishing other rituals, including the 'tawaf' or moving seven times around the Kaba in Mecca, treading back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, and stoning the symbolic 'satan'.
The chants of 'Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik' (Oh God, here I am answering your call) resonated as the sea of humanity descended on Arafat.
This last leg of the Hajj pilgrimage will culminate into the 'Day of Sacrifice' when Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid Al Azha. Eid will be celebrated in the Gulf region tomorrow.
"A total of 1,24,948 pilgrims have arrived from India," said the office of the Consulate General of India in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has in recent years stepped up preparations to avoid any stampedes that have marred the Hajj in the past.
Around 63,000 Hajj security forces in addition to the 17,000 traffic policemen and tens of thousands of officials have been deployed for the largest annual gathering of Muslims in the world.
In January 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the entrance to a bridge leading to the stoning site in Mina, outside Mecca, while 251 were trampled to death in 2004.
Hajj pilgrims stone symbols of Satan
HUNDREDS of thousands of Muslim pilgrims have flooded a valley near the Saudi holy city of Mina to stone pillars representing Satan, on the penultimate day of the annual hajj.
The most dangerous rite of the annual hajj proceeded peacefully today as pilgrims rushed to throw 21 stones on the three pillars that symbolise the devil, the last rite of the annual and compulsory pilgrimage to the Saudi city of Mecca, the birthplace of Islam and its holiest site.
In previous years, hundreds of people have been trampled to death in stampedes triggered by crowds trying to get close to the pillars to take their vengeance on the symbol of the devil.
"This time the stone-throwing process was easy, not like years past," said 33-year-old Calazar Shah, a Pakistani pilgrim on his second hajj journey.
To complete the ritual, pilgrims must throw seven pebbles at each of the three 25-metre pillars on the first day of the three-day Eid al-Adha feast marking the end of the hajj, and another seven on each of the last two days.
Floods of pilgrims go to the Mount
MORE than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims have left Mecca to begin the rites of the annual hajj pilgrimage.
They are bound for Mount Arafat, where the prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final hajj sermon.
Dressed in white, they flooded the streets as they headed towards Mina, around five kilometres east of the holy mosque.
The day is known as Tarwiah (Watering) Day, as pilgrims traditionally watered their animals and stocked water for their trip to Mount Arafat, some 10km further on.
Many pilgrims took buses, while others set off on foot for a village that comes to life for just five days a year.
Others were using the Mashair Railway, also known as Mecca Metro, to go to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plains where they will gather for the peak Day of Arafat today.
The Chinese-built railway will operate for the first time this year at its full capacity of 72,000 people per hour to ease congestions and prevent stampedes in which hundreds have been killed in past years.
The dual-track light railway connects the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat - areas that see massive congestion during the five-day pilgrimage.
It will replace 30,000 cars previously used, said project director Fahd Abu-Tarbush.
"The train this year is restricted to the pilgrims coming from inside Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, as well as 200,000 pilgrims coming from south Asia," Mr Tarbush said.
"Mashair Railway will transport 500,000 pilgrims from Mina, passing by Muzdalifah, reaching to Arafat, in addition to one million pilgrims on the Tashreeq days," which are on the 11th, 12th and 13th of the Muslim month of Dhul Hijjah.
Around 1.7 million Muslims descended on Mecca from around the world while between 700,000 and 800,000 pilgrims are coming from inside Saudi Arabia.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all those who are able to make the journey, and it is a dream that can take years to come true.
"To me, this is a miracle. I've been dreaming of going to hajj for years, and this dream is now being fulfilled," 67-year-old Nigerian pilgrim Salahuldin Mohammed said.
Another pilgrim, 58-year-old Mohammed Sadoreen from the Palestinian territories, said: "I couldn't believe the day has come when I would see this sacred place. This is the first time I come to hajj."
The hajj will end tomorrow with Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.
Coping with the world's largest annual human assembly poses a security headache for Saudi Arabia - guardian of the two holiest Muslim shrines in the cities of Mecca and Medina, the birth places of Islam.
Saudi authorities have numbered the buses and tents in Mina according to the countries from which the pilgrims have come to prevent chaos.
The oil kingpin has invested billions of dollars over the years to avoid deadly stampedes that have marred the hajj in the past.
In January 2006, 364 pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the entrance to a bridge leading to the stoning site in Mina, outside Mecca, while 251 were trampled to death in 2004.
In July 1990, 1426 pilgrims were trampled to death or suffocated in a stampede in a tunnel, also in Mina.
The deaths prompted authorities to dismantle the old bridge and replace it with a multi-level with one-way lanes to ensure a smooth flow of pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia also launched a new $10.2-billion project for a new extension to Mecca's Grand Mosque to increase its capacity to two million worshippers.
"We haven't faced any problems. I didn't expect all these services to be available," said 55-year-old pilgrim Abdulhadi Badran.
Iran's Shiite pilgrims are another headache Saudi authorities are faced with during hajj season.
However, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has dismissed any threat from pilgrims coming from Iran, despite rising tension between Tehran and Riyadh over an alleged Iranian plot to kill the Saudi envoy to Washington and past confrontations.
"The Iranians have always shown their respect for the hajj," he said.
A total of 97,000 Iranians - the maximum allowed for Iran under a Saudi system apportioning pilgrim quotas among the world's biggest Muslim countries - are in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, Iranian media said Monday.
"We hope this year's hajj (pilgrimage) will take place in a very calm and spiritual atmosphere," the representative of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the pilgrimage, Hojatoleslam Ali Ghazi Asgar, said last week.
Saudi security forces have several times in the past confronted Iranian pilgrims holding anti-US and anti-Israeli protests.
In 1987, Saudi police efforts to stifle such a demonstration sparked clashes in which 402 people died, including 275 Iranians.
An Iranian official said that Iranian pilgrims are this year going to hold their demonstrations within the boundaries of their own camps as they did in the past few years, to avoid confrontations with Saudi security forces.
Picture:
1. Muslim pilgrims perform prayers upon their arrival in Mecca, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
2.Muslim pilgrims perform prayers upon their arrival during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
3. Muslim pilgrims wait at Saudi Arabia's Jeddah airport for the annual pilgrimage to nearby Mecca
4. Muslim pilgrims make their way to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon arrival in Mecca, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
5. Muslim pilgrims walk to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon arrival in Mecca, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
6.A Muslim pilgrim carries an older pilgrim during the annual haj pilgrimage outside the Grand Mosque in Mecca
7. Before dawn, pilgrims begin heading back from Muzdalifah to Mina where they will spend three days.
8. Muslim women pilgrims walk to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon arrival in Mecca, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
9. Muslim pilgrims walk outside the Grand Mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
10. As pilgrims prepare to return to their homes, Saudi authorities begin to prep for next year's Hajj
11. Women sell goods to pilgrims at the road to the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
12. Muslim pilgrims make their way to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon their arrival in Mecca
13. Saudi security forces participate during a parade in preparation for the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
14. Muslim pilgrims make their way to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon their arrival in Mecca
15. Muslim pilgrims pray at the Al-Masjid al-Haram (Grand mosque) in Mecca
16. Muslim pilgrims arrive on a vehicle for prayers at Mena during the annual haj pilgrimage outside the holy city of Mecca
17. A Muslim woman pilgrim walks past pigeons to perform prayers at the Grand Mosque upon arrival in Mecca, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
18. Muslim pilgrims rest by the road after prayers at the Grand Mosque during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
19. Muslim pilgrims attend afternoon prayers outside the Al-Masjid al-Haram (Grand mosque) in Mecca
20. Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the Grand mosque, on the last days of the annual haj pilgrimage, in Mecca
21.Muslim pilgrims pray at the Grand Mosque in Mecca
22, A Last day of Hajj - all pilgrims leaving Mina, many already in Mecca for farewell circumambulation of Kaaba
24. Before the Hajj is complete, pilgrims must return to Mecca to perform a "farewell tawaf" around the Kaaba.
25. A Muslim pilgrim sits on Mount Al-Noor during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca
26.
Muslim Hajj pilgrims perform the noon prayers at the Nemra mosque near Mount Arafat on Nov. 5, 2011. More than two million Muslims began massing on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain, marking the peak day of the largest annual pilgrimage.
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