MINA, Saudi Arabia, June 26, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of Muslim 
pilgrims walked or rode buses Monday to a giant tented city near Makkha for 
the climax of the annual hajj that Saudi officials say could break attendance 
records.

After performing the ritual circumambulation of the Kaaba, the giant black 
cube at Makkha 's Grand Mosque that Muslims pray towards each day, 
worshippers set off for Mina, about seven kilometres (more than four miles) 
away, in suffocating heat.

Pilgrims in robes and sandals, many carrying umbrellas against the beating 
sun, undertook the journey on foot or crowded onto hundreds of air-
conditioned buses provided by Saudi authorities.

They will spend the night in white tents in Mina, which every year hosts the 
world's largest encampment, before the hajj's high-point on Tuesday: prayers 
at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is said to 
have delivered his final sermon.

"It is an experience that is worth it," said Salim Ibrahim, a 39-year-old 
Nigerian, when asked about temperatures that have touched 46 degrees Celsius 
(115 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Even if the heat gets stronger, I will repeat the hajj again," he added.

Saudi officials say this year's hajj -- one of the five pillars of Islam -- 
could be the biggest in history. After 2.5 million attended in 2019, numbers 
were capped in 2020, 2021 and 2022 because of the Covid pandemic.

The event has seen multiple crises over the years, including militant 
attacks, deadly fires and a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 people. 
There have been no major incidents since.

As part of the safety measures, helicopters and AI-equipped drones have been 
deployed to monitor the flow of traffic towards Mina, which sits in a narrow 
valley flanked by rocky mountains.

A small fleet of self-driving buses, seating up to 11 people, is in operation 
between the sites of the rituals, including Makkha -- Islam's holiest city -- 
Mina and Muzdalifah.

- 'Exhausted' -

One of the biggest risks this year at the hajj, which follows the lunar 
calendar, is heat, especially after maximum age restrictions were removed.

Habbia Abdel Nasser, a Moroccan woman who was performing the rituals with her 
husband, needed urgent medical treatment near the Grand Mosque because of the 
heat.

"The weather is very hot here compared to Morocco, and we feel exhausted," 
said her husband, 62-year-old businessman Rahim Abdel Nasser, as he poured 
water on her head to cool her down.

The health ministry has recommended pilgrims use umbrellas during the day and 
has told the sick and elderly to stay indoors around midday to "avoid 
sunstroke".

Four hospitals and 26 clinics are ready to deal with ailing pilgrims in Mina, 
and more than 190 ambulances have been deployed, officials said.

On Tuesday, the pilgrims will pray and recite the Koran for several hours at 
Mount Arafat and spend the night nearby. The following day, they will gather 
pebbles and hurl them at three giant concrete walls for the symbolic "stoning 
of the devil" ritual.

The last stop is back in Makkha, where they will perform a final 
circumambulation of the Kaaba, which according to Muslim tradition had been 
built by Abraham and his son, Ishmael.

All Muslims who are capable are expected to form the hajj at least once. 
About 1.6 million foreigners had arrived for the pilgrimage by Friday 
evening, officials said.

Many are overcome by the experience as they fulfil a lifelong dream at the 
sites where Islam began.

"I still can't believe I'm performing the hajj pilgrimage," Syrian merchant 
Mohammad Hajouj, 59, told AFP as he fought back tears.