The Saudi sitting next to him shared his umbrella as they listened to the sermon at noon.A sea of umbrellas as hundreds of thousands listen to the sermon at Namirah Mosque, which was built on the location the Prophet Mohammed set up camp during his Hajj in 632 CE. Hajj 2018 is expected to begin on Sunday, August 19, 2018 and continue till Friday, August 24, 2018. AP Photo Many have come prepared for this exact moment.With heads dangling over garbage bins, other pilgrims take blades to the tufts of hair of those willing.Although it is not mandatory to shave your head, only to cut it short, most opt to shave it to signify their coming transformation into becoming a Hajji. Recount the steps made by more than two million Muslims for the annual Hajj pilgrimageAfter the circumambulation, pilgrims head towards an expanse in the northern part of the mosque facing the Station of Ibrahim, where the imprint of the Prophet Abraham is set in a rock.They say a prayer, then head on to the last step before the pilgrims become they become Hajjis, shaving their heads.Makkah, even at 2 am, is alive. People gather at a bakery in Baghdad, Iraq. The five-day annual pilgrimage for Muslims called Hajj…
Artists walk past as a man leads a sheep to slaughter in Almaty.
Hajj pigrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid Al Adha in Makkah. A man shades himself from the sun during his visit to Mount Arafat. A masked Saudi police officer stands in a street outside the Grand Mosque. A man squats as he carries a sheep during a competition to mark Eid Al Adha at the Central Mosque in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Reuters Hide Ad. AP Photo
EPA Several hours of heavy rain and thunderstorms forced pilgrims to take cover in tents and trudge through puddles. The five-day annual pilgrimage for Muslims called Hajj, which happens during the eighth and the 12th of the month of Dhul Hijjah — the last month of the Islamic calendar — begins this year on the evening of Aug. 19 and ends on the evening of Aug. 24. EPA
It is today the Well of Zamzam.Pilgrims then depart for Mina, five kilometres away, where they recite prayers and spend the night in the valley where prophet Ibrahim stoned the devil as he tried to lead him astray.On the second day of Hajj, after the Fajr prayer in Mina, pilgrims make the journey to Mount Arafat, a 70-metre hill believed to be where the Prophet Mohammed gave his final sermon. On each side of the road are seas of white cloth, pilgrims walking throughout the night towards the the tent city of Mina.Pilgrims gather at Muzaliffah to gather the pebbles they will throw in the Ramy Al Jamarat in Mina.A child takes a painstakingly long time choosing just the right size and colour stone at a crossing in between two dug out mountains. Reuters Explore more on Hajj. The same year, a stampede killed more than 700 people and injured nearly 900 others. People gather at a bakery in Baghdad, Iraq. EPA Videos. This requires them to recite an intention and adhere to a certain dress code.