MAKKAH — Hundreds of thousands of Hajj pilgrims started performing on Thursday evening the ritual of Tawaf Al-Qudum (Tawaf of Arrival), before moving into Mina to mark the beginning of the annual pilgrimage of Hajj on Friday, the Day of Tarwiyah. Those pilgrims who arrived in Makkah on Thursday performed Tawaf Al-Qudoom, one of the obligatory rituals of Hajj, before heading for the vast sprawling tent city of Mina while those pilgrims, who had arrived in Makkah earlier, were engaged in making final preparations before moving into the tent city on Thursday evening. The General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques is making continuous efforts, together with the concerned authorities, to harness all capabilities and facilitate all the entrances and corridors leading to the mataf (circumambulating area around the Holy Kaaba), to take advantage of the full capacity so that pilgrims can perform their rituals in complete ease and comfort. It is noteworthy that the mataf accommodates 108,000 worshipers per hour in all its floors, which are the courtyard, the ground and first floors, first and second mezzanine floors and the second rooftop floor. The mataf accommodates 203,000 worshipers per hour on all its floors in the Grand Mosque
