Faisal, Emir of Makkah and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, announced Sunday the success of this year's Haj, thanking all government departments that have taken part in the Haj safety and security operations. It would have been even a much easier Haj for pilgrims had 753,000 illegal pilgrims with no permits stayed home, Prince Khaled told reporters Sunday at a press conference in Mina, but he vowed to decrease this number next year. The total number of pilgrims this year topped 2.521 million, including 1.613 million pilgrims from abroad and 154,000 from the Kingdom all legal, Prince Khaled said. The media coverage of this year's Haj was good, he said, calling for more professional reporting to show the true image of the Haj and feelings of pilgrims. The current Haramain train project linking Makkah and Madina through Jeddah will be connected with the holy sites monorail at a central station near the Grand Mosque, he said. The floodwater drainage network at the holy sites will be fully completed within next few years. The current drainage network has successfully handled the heavy downpour Wednesday with no damages, he said. Many countries have requested the Kingdom's help on crowd management, he said. On the Haj laws, Prince Khaled said “We expect people to respect our laws and there is no reason to break the law. And we will not allow any thing to disrupt this great Islamic gathering.” In fair weather, millions of pilgrims pelted the Jamarat in Mina Sunday on the closing day of this year's Haj. Pilgrims in a hurry to return home are allowed to leave Mina on the second day of Tashriq. Some will stay for the last day Monday. “It was an orderly stoning of the Jamarat Sunday as pilgrims hurried to leave Mina,” said Col. Jiddawi Al-Shahrani, chief of the Jamarat Task Force. Around 8,000 security men watched pilgrims as they threw their last 21 pebbles Sunday, he said. Then the faithful headed back to Makkah for a final journey, known as the farewell circumambulation, around the Ka'ba. The force tried to distribute the crowd throughout the five-level Jamarat building, he said. Around 20,000 policemen were deployed around the exit points of Mina and the entry points of Makkah as the pilgrims flocked to the Grand Mosque for the farewell tawaf. Security control rooms monitored the movement from 4,800 LCD cameras. Cleared of all sins after completing a sincere Haj, around 800,000 pilgrims began to stream out of Makkah on their way to Madina to visit the Prophet's Mosque before leaving for home. Over 350,000 pilgrims are expected to leave from King Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Madina, said Yousef Huwalah, head of a national transport company. Entry points to Madina have been decked out to receive the faithful, said Muhammad Al-Bijawi, head of the Ministry of Haj office in Madina. The journey of pilgrims from Makkah to Madina and their departure to their home countries has been carefully planned, he said. Flash floods did not damage roads linking Makkah and Madina. The Ministry of Transport said traffic would be directed to alternative roads if the historic Hijra road is affected by new floods, said Zuhair Kateb, head of the Transport and Road Department in Madina. Pilgrims traveling to Madina can take different routes: Yanbu Road, Rabegh Road, or the Jeddah-Madina Highway, he said. At least 90,000 pilgrims aboard 2,000 pilgrim buses will arrive in Madina by Tuesday by way of the historic Hijra Road, said Huwalah, Pilgrims in Madina will be housed in ten different areas close to the Prophet's Mosque.
