AFP, Makkah

More than a million pilgrims participated in Islam’s most important rite under a scorching sun yesterday as the hajj pilgrimage began.

With temperatures expected to top 40 degrees Celsius, pilgrims slowly circled the Kaaba -- the black cube at the heart of Makkah’s Grand Mosque which is Islam’s holiest site.

State media reported that others had begun arriving in the sprawling tent city of Mina on Makkah’s outskirts where they will stay overnight before the hajj’s high-point today -- prayers on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) is believed to have delivered his final sermon.

About 1.4 million pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.

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