Hajj : Pilgrims Flock to Mina for Tarwiya Day

In the early hours of Friday (8 Dou Al Hijja 1445 H), the first day of the Hajj (Tarwiya), pilgrims began flocking to Mina, where they will spend the night before heading to Mount Arafa at dawn to perform the most important rite of pilgrimage. Pilgrims from all over the world embarked to the Mina valley, 5 km east of Makkah, in an air of fervor, contemplation, devotion and prayer, before starting their ascent of Mount Arafa in the early hours of the following day. The site of Mina, a desert on the road from Makkah to Mount Arafa, holds a particular importance amongst pilgrimage rites, as at its western entrance (the Jamarat Bridge) that the ritual of stoning the steles of Satan takes place. It is also the place where the Prophet Ibrahim prepared to carry out the sacrifice of his son Ismaïl, a gesture perpetuated by the Prophet Muhammed. Saudi Arabia has made extensive arrangements to accommodate the pilgrims, including the preparation of four multi-specialty hospitals and services to ward off heat stress and sunstroke. Multi-storey residential towers have also been built in Mina to accommodate over 30,000 pilgrims, with modern designs inspired by the urban identity of the Holy Sites. In addition, the 'Holy Sites Train', which serves 9 stations in various Holy Sites and connected by an 18-kilometer-long double track, is ready for use by pilgrims. With a capacity of 72,000 passengers per hour in each direction, the train makes over 2,000 trips to facilitate pilgrims' movements between the various locations. The train reaches a speed of 80 km/h and spans the distance between Mina and Arafa in twenty minutes. The Holy Sites rail fleet consists of 17 trains, each with a capacity of 3,000 passengers, i.e. over 350,000 pilgrims for each complete trip Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse