Thousands of Muslims circled the holy Kaaba stone on Tuesday before bidding farewell to Mecca while others stoned pillars representing Satan in nearby Mina as the hajj pilgrimage drew to a close.
In the last ritual of the annual pilgrimage, tens of thousands of faithful walked seven times around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque complex in Mecca and then knelt to pray.
The Kaaba, with a black stone set in the eastern corner, is not an object of worship, even though Muslims pray towards it, but a sanctuary and a spiritual center.
Several thousand faithful remained behind in Mina, about 5km east of Mecca, to stone pillars representing Satan for a fourth and final day, a risky ritual which unfolded without incident this year.
In January last year, 364 pilgrims were killed in a crush during the stoning ritual.
Nearly 2,4-million people flocked to holy sites in Saudi Arabia this year to perform the hajj, including more than 1,6-million from outside the kingdom.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which all able-bodied Muslims must undertake once in a lifetime if they have the means.
Huge traffic jams built up between Mina and Mecca as faithful done with stoning pillars headed to Mecca, turning the usually short journey into a two-hour drive.
Scores of Asian workers in orange jumpsuits poured onto the streets of Mina to clear tonnes of rubbish left behind by pilgrims, who marked the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, on Saturday by sacrificing sheep to recall Abraham’s ordeal when asked by God to sacrifice his son. – AFP
