Many of the pilgrims carried umbrellas to protect from the scorching sun, while others were praying and supplicating on the white marble floors that smelled of musk.
Over 20 lakh Hajj pilgrims started performing on Sunday afternoon the ritual of Tawaf Al-Qudum (Tawaf of Arrival), before their moving into Mina to mark the beginning of the annual pilgrimage of Hajj on Monday, the Day of Tarwiyah.
The Saudi authorities and Hajj missions of various countries have completed mammoth preparations and foolproof and flawless arrangements for a hassle-free Hajj while pilgrims are engaged in final preparations to set out for the tent city of Mina at the start of their lifetime spiritual journey.
The streets of Makkah were flooded with tents of thousands of pilgrims of all nationalities, after Saudi Arabia allowed the Hajj to be performed this year without any restrictions on the number and ages of pilgrims.
Those pilgrims who arrived in Makkah on Sunday performed Tawaf Al-Qudoom, one of the obligatory rituals of Hajj, before heading for the vast sprawling tent city of Mina.
Those pilgrims, who had arrived in Makkah earlier, are engaged in making final preparations before moving into the tent city on Sunday evening.
After three years of limited pilgrimages, the holy city is once again crowded with pilgrims. There is no foothold in the bustling markets and restaurants that were almost empty during the pandemic period.
The streets around the Grand Mosque are filled with thousands of pilgrims, who prayed on colorful carpets in front of hotels and shops. The pilgrims in seamless white Ihram clothes circumambulated the Holy Kaaba.
Many of the pilgrims carried umbrellas to protect from the scorching sun, while others were praying and supplicating on the white marble floors that smelled of musk.
Fire trucks with their distinctive yellow colors are also scattered throughout the Grand Mosque, and policemen have set up checkpoints and patrolled on foot, carrying white umbrellas for protection from the sun.
The security men stood spraying water on the pilgrims exhausted from the heat, and some of them spread out on the squares adjacent to the gates of the Grand Mosque.
Inside the Grand Mosque, paramedics stood ready in various locations, while young volunteers pushing wheelchairs that were waiting in a long line to help the elderly and the sick who could not walk long distances.
All around the holy place, workers in green clothes distributed cold water bottles, and others sprayed refreshing spray from cylinders tied around their backs. Many pilgrims put the names and flags of their countries on their clothes. Asian and African participants wore distinctive colored abayas.
Source : https://www.greaterkashmir.com/todays-paper/front-page/over-20-lakh-pilgrims-begin-hajj-today