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The islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) is one of the five pillars of Islam and a religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim. The pilgrimage takes place once a year.

This year it started on Sunday October 13 and will end Friday October 18.

During the pilgrimage, male Muslims are required to dress only in the ihram, a garment that consist of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth, the top draped over the torso and the bottom secured by a belt, plus a pair of sandals.
Women are required to wear a preferably white hijab, which does not cover the hands or face.

Once inside the Grand Mosque, pilgrims have to walk seven times counter-clockwise around the central shrine, called Kaaba, and kiss the Black Stone on each circuit.

They then have to walk, or run, back and forth seven times between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah.

The day after they spend the night in prayer in Mina before proceeding to mount Arafat.

On the way back, they throw stones at the three pillars, which symbolizes their defiance of the Devil.

As AFP reported, "The ritual [of throwing stones] is an emulation of Ibrahim's stoning of the Devil when he appeared at three spots trying to dissuade the biblical patriarch from obeying God's order to sacrifice his son, Ishmael."

Before leaving Mecca, the pilgrims have to re-visit the Grand Mosque and walk seven more times around the central shrine."

According to the Saudi public statistics department, the number of Muslims that gathered in Mecca this year went down to 1.98 million pilgrims, from last year 3.2 millions.

According to reports, the drop in the number of pilgrims was caused by fears linked to the MERS coronavirus and the slashing of hajj quotas due to massive construction works at the Grand Mosque.

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