MINA — Throngs of pilgrims took part in the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual for a second day Wednesday. Later, several of them converged on Makkah to perform Tawaf Ifadah followed by Sa'i (walking between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times) to commemorate Hajjar's, mother of Prophet Ismael (peace be upon him) search for water for her child. Around two million men, women and children from 188 countries are attending this year's pilgrimage, according to Saudi Arabia's public statistics office. This is down from 3.16 million last year, after the Kingdom cut the quotas over fears of infections from the MERS respiratory virus and because of massive projects to expand the capacity of the Grand Mosque. The number of foreign pilgrims was 1.38 million compared to 1.75 million in 2012. Pilgrims said the stoning ritual proved easier to perform this year due to the lower numbers. The head of the hi-tech Command and Control Center for Haj Security, Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Zahrani, said two factors had played a role. “The reduction in the number of pilgrims and the correct implementation of the security plan have contributed to the better organization of this year's Haj,” he told reporters. The center has installed more than 5,000 cameras to monitor all the holy sites, including 1,200 at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. “We have installed and experimented with highly-advanced cameras for the first time this year and this has proved successful,” Zahrani said. The center in Mina has a large number of television screens that receive live videos round the clock from the holy sites. Backed by three helicopters, the center is able quickly to pinpoint problem areas and inform the concerned security authorities. The faithful began the stoning rituals on Tuesday, which was also the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha, when they threw pebbles at one of three huge concrete structures representing the devil. On Wednesday, they threw seven pebbles at each of the three pillars in a ritual they will repeat over the next two days. Those who are ill or pressed for time can complete the process on Thursday. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Medicine, Dr. Ziad Meimish, said that the health conditions of pilgrims so far was satisfactory, stressing that no epidemic or quarantine diseases have been reported.
