Jeddah, November 27: Some two million pilgrims headed to Muzdalifa on Thursday after spending the day at the plain of Arafat to prepare to cast stones at the devil.
Bright weather greeted the pilgrims after heavy rain hit the nearby city of Jeddah, gateway to the holy city of Makkah, on Wednesday. Some 77 people were killed, none of them pilgrims, most of whom were swept away by currents and drowned, state television said.
Pilgrims pray on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat near the holy city of Makkah on Thursday.
At Muzdalifa, the pilgrims will collect pebbles to throw at walls at the Jamarat Bridge on three occasions over the next three days in an act that symbolises the rejection of the devil’s temptations.
The bridge has been the scene of a number of deadly stampedes — 362 people were crushed to death there in 2006 in the worst Haj tragedy since 1990.
Saudi authorities have made renovations to ease the flow of pilgrims at the bridge, adding an extra level so that pilgrims have four platforms from which to throw stones.
The fittest chose to walk the distance of about 3 km to Muzdalifa on a special highway joining the sites while others clung to any form of transportation they could find.
The rains tapered off on Thursday but meteorologists predicted further showers. It often rains here in winter, but Wednesday’s downpour was the heaviest in years during the Haj. Jeddah was swamped with more than a year’s aggregate on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia’s biggest worry for months ahead of the Haj has been the A(H1N1) influenza. But with four deaths so far and the infected cases remaining at 67, the number was much lower than expected, according to Saudi health officials.
Another potential threat passed off without incident when the Iranian delegation chanted slogans against Israel and America, ignoring Saudi warnings against political activity.
In 1987, Saudi attempts to subue a protest by Iranian pilgrims led to a riot in which 402 people died. However, no police action was needed on Thursday as the representative of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the delegation.
“We need to be purified from our wrongdoings in this Haj,” Ayatollah Muhammed Rishari said in a statement. “We need all Muslims, Sunni and Shia, to be unified and focus on important issues.”
The Saudi health ministry ferried 296 patients from local hospitals to Arafat to take part in the Haj, accompanied by a squadron of doctors and nurses.
Meanwhile, volunteers were passing thousands of free meals all around Arafat, donated by numerous Saudi charities and businesses.
Some pilgrims opted to skip the traditional stop in Mina because the buses carrying pilgrims were bogged down by the rainstorm.
–Agencies–