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Pilgrims pour in as Hajj begins tomorrow
MAKKAH. Mar 12: More than 1.15 million Muslims from around the world have converged on Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage to Makkah. officials said today, reports AFP.
They said around one million flew in by the cut-off date of Saturday for the Hajj.
The number who arrived by plane was 25 per cent up on 1999, Talal Habis, an official at Jeddah airport, told the newspaper Saudi Gazette. They arrived on board 4,100 flights since mid-January.
The official news agency SPA said another 1 17.000 pilgrims from abroad travelled overland to the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, which serves as the gateway to the Hajj, and almost 20,000 more arrived by
* Saudis and foreign residents of the kingdom taking part in the Hajj are expected to number 800.000. making a total of almost two million pilgrims as in past years.
On Tuesday, the Hajj starts
In earnest when the faithful gather in Mina, a valley near Makkah. to pass the night under tents. They will spend the next day in prayer around Mount Arafat.
The feast of the sacrifice in memory of Ibrahim’s readiness to give his son's life for Allah, falls on Thursday when the pilgrims return to Makkah. birthplace of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
AP adds: Crown Prince Abdullah yesterday opened one of the world's biggest abattoirs where some 600,000 animals are expected to be slaughtered following the Hajj pilgrimage.
The Al-Muaesem slaughterhouse in Makkah. built at a cost of about 125 million dollars, comprises four sections that can handle 200,000 animals a day, the statement said.
"This project is very important for it makes maximum benefit of the meat of animals sacrificed and achieves the noble purpose of this ritual." Ahmed bln Mohammad, chairman of the Islamic Devel-
opment Bank, was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency. The bank will handle the shipping and the distribution of the meat.
The feast partly overlaps with Hajj, which will begin on Wednesday when pilgrims start gathering on Mount Arafat. 19 kilometers from Makkah. They will spend the night there, the first ritual of Hajj. Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon 14 centuries ago on Mount Arafat.
The other rituals of the Hajj will be performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which will include pilgrims circling the cubic black stone called Kaaba in Makkah.
Abdullah also Inspected a township of 40.000 fireproof tents set up for the pilgrims in Mina, near Makkah yesterday.
A 1997 fire, apparently caused by pilgrims cooking in their tents, left 343 people dead and about 1.500 Injured. Since then pilgrims have been banned from cooking inside tents.