|
|
Change Your Life! |
2 million devotees
begin Hajj |
|
|
Sports |
March
15, 2000
AFP Photo |
Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Mar 14: More than two million Muslim pilgrims from around the world embarked today on the first ritual of the annual Hajj which Saudi Arabian officials say was so far trouble-free, reports Reuters. In
cars, on buses and on foot, men in seamless two-piece white cloths and
women in long robes with their heads covered began their journey at
sunrise from the holy city of Makkah to the plain of Mina, 11-km away. |
|
Pilgrims, tracing the steps of Prophet Mohammad (SM) to fulfill one of the five pillars of Islam, must be in Mina by sundown. They will spend the night in 43,000 fire-proof and air conditioned tents erected in Mina under stringent safety rgulation after a 1997 blaze killed 343 people.
Muslins
believe that Prophet Ibrahim went to Mina to carry out an order by Allah
to sacrifice his son Ismail. But Ismail was replaced by a sheep by
an angel (Ferishta
"I am so excited. This is like a dream for me," said Bangladesh Ahmed Yassin, 72, in Makkah where workers were busy cleaning slowly emptying streets.
Traffic to Mina Flowed despite the huge number of cars and bused on the modern highways. bridges and tunnels. Those on foot followed specially assigned routes for pedestrians, including covered parts to shelter from the sun.
Saudi Arabia has improved police communications to avert congestion on a bridge used by pilgrims. In 1998, 119 people died in a stampede n the Jam raat bridge.
Saudi Arabia has improved police to expect hot weather at midday of around 37 Celsius and a low at night of 21 Celsius.
Helicopters hovered to monitor the flow of pilgrims and report on any emergencies.
Source: The Daily Star |
||
