As the Hajj began Wednesday, more than a million pilgrims participated in the most significant Islamic ritual under a scorching sun, with the Saudi hosts frantically trying to prevent the more than 1,000 fatalities that occurred in the intense heat last year.
As the temperature rose to over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), pilgrims in robes made their way slowly around the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam and the center of Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
Others have started to arrive in Mina, a large tent city on the outskirts of Makkah, according to Saudi media. They will spend the night there before the Hajj’s high point on Thursday and worship on Mount Arafat, the site of the Prophet Muhammad’s alleged last sermon.
