Dec 22, 2007
March of millions
March of millions: “Provided by 7DAYS.ae
Perched on their fathers shoulders, children joined the almost 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims thronging the Saudi holy city of Mina yesterday to cast their stones at Satan. Worshippers, dressed in the traditional white religious robes, filled the roads as they edged their way towards the sacred Jamarat Bridge to hurl rocks at the three pillars which symbolise the devil.
According to the figures given by the authorities a total of 2,454,325 pilgrims are performing the pilgrimage this year from 181 nations. The walls are traditionally believed to be the place where the devil appeared to Abraham, his wife Hagar and son Ishmael.
After the stoning, the pilgrims celebrate Eid al-Adha, literally the day of sacrifice, when animals, normally sheep - but also goats, cows and camels, are sacrificed, in remembrance of Abrahams readiness to sacrifice his son to God. The human wave approached the bridge amid tight security imposed in a bid to prevent repeats of the fatal crushes which have typified parts of past rituals and which have claimed thousands of lives.
In January last year, 364 people were killed in huge crush during the stoning ceremony and a similar tragedy in 2004 saw 251 people trampled to death. The worst incident occurred in 1990 when 1,426 people suffocated to death in a tunnel in Mina after a ventilation system broke down. Saudi authorities have built a third level on to the bridge complex to ease the pressure, allowing more than 200,000 people an hour to cast pebbles they collected the previous day.
The vast crowds can be particularly dangerous for children who can become separated from their family among the turbulent sea of people. Thousands of medical staff were stationed around the bridge to the treat cuts and bruises of pilgrims hit by stones which missed their intended target.
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