Muslim pilgrims reach Mecca for Hajj

Nearly 1.5M stream in, with more likely for annual trek

MECCA, Saudi Arabia – Muslim pilgrims streamed into the holy city of Mecca on Friday ahead of the start of Hajj next week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale after three years of heavy restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi officials say close to 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country so far, the vast majority by air. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Monday.

Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims to reach pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage.

On Friday, pilgrims thronged the Grand Mosque in Mecca to attend weekly communal prayers. Many then did a ritual circuit walking seven times around the Kaaba, the cubeshaped structure inside the Grand Mosque that is Islam’s holiest site. On Thursday night, the vast marble court around the Kaaba was packed with the faithful, walking nearly shoulder to shoulder – in stark contrast to scenes two years ago at the height of the pandemic, when the sparse numbers kept far from each other in the nearly empty court as they walked the circuit.

Pilgrims do the circumambulation, known as “Tawaf” in Arabic, upon arriving in Mecca, and the large crowds circling the Kaaba will last into the Hajj’s first day.

Carrying umbrellas against the sun in temperatures reaching 107 degrees on Friday, pilgrims walked for miles from bus lots into the Grand Mosque area in central Mecca. Pilgrims from around the world converged on nearby shops and malls to buy souvenirs.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to undertake it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so.

The Saudi media ministry announced Thursday that more than 1.49 million foreign pilgrims had arrived through its international ports by Wednesday.

SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A volunteer hands out food packages offered by the residents of Mecca to pilgrims as Muslims from around the world arrive for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city in Saudi Arabia on Friday.