Millions of Muslim worshippers gathered at Mount Arafat for the most important ritual of the Hajj pilgrimage, as the fierce desert sun pushed temperatures close to 40°C.
From early Tuesday morning, thousands of pilgrims dressed in white chanted verses from the Quran on the rocky, 70-meter hill near Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final sermon.
Volunteers lined the route, handing out water, umbrellas, and food to tens of thousands of pilgrims advancing toward the mount. Ahmoud Abou Elezz, a 35-year-old Egyptian engineer, shared: "This is a feeling beyond words" on his first approach to Mount Arafat.
More than 1.5 million people are participating in the Hajj this year, despite the war between the US-Israel and Iran casting a shadow across the Middle East. In the conflict, Tehran has responded with drone and ballistic missile attacks on major infrastructure and energy facilities across the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.
Over 30,000 Iranians are on pilgrimage, roughly a third of the initial 86,000 expected. Iran's state news agency IRNA attributed the drop to "conditions of war." However, Saudi officials said that over the past weekend, more pilgrims arrived from abroad than in 2024, despite the conflict.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, an obligation that every physically and financially able Muslim must perform at least once in a lifetime. With temperatures in Mecca reaching 44°C in recent days, Saudi authorities have urged pilgrims to drink plenty of water and shield themselves from the sun while performing the predominantly outdoor rituals that last five days or more. Because men are prohibited from wearing hats, many carry umbrellas for shade.
After the day on Mount Arafat, pilgrims will spend the night at Muzdalifah, where they collect pebbles for the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Mina, expected to begin on Wednesday. The Hajj is believed to retrace the final pilgrimage path of the Prophet Muhammad about 1,400 years ago and has long been a key source of legitimacy for the Al Saud dynasty, whose monarch holds the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Mecca and Medina.
