HOLY SITES: Millions of pilgrims gathered in Mina's Tent City on the first day of Haj Sunday, in prayer and contemplation – in preparation for the second leg of their five-day pilgrimage. Early Monday morning they will travel to Arafat for what is considered the high point of the Haj. On the plains of Arafat, pilgrims will stand and supplicate to Almighty Allah, seeking forgiveness, mercy and the strength to follow the straight path. Eid Al-Adha takes place over three days from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18. Prince Naif, Second Deputy Premier, Interior Minister and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, is overseeing Haj arrangements this year as King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is recovering from a slipped disc. In his message to King Abdullah, Sunday, Prince Naif said that close to 1.8 million pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom, the highest number ever recorded. The figure included 977,583 males representing 54 percent of the total, and 822,018 females representing 46 percent of the total of pilgrims. This was an 11 percent increase – 180,746 pilgrims – compared to last year. A total of over 1.6 million pilgrims came by air, 117,363 by land and 12,916 by sea, from 181 countries. The first day of the largest Muslim gathering on earth took place without major incident Sunday. A fire broke at some fireproof tents in Arafat, but was quickly brought under control by Civil Defense firefighting teams. There was another small fire in Mina at around noon Sunday but this too was quickly put out by Civil Defense. There were no casualties in both incidents. Over 50,000 security officials have been deployed to oversee the safety and security of pilgrims this Haj. The major new development at Haj this year will be the first run of the Holy Sites Train, known in Arabic as the Mashair Train. The SR6.5-billion development is expected to drastically reduce traffic congestion at the holy sites. It will operate at 35 percent of its full capacity in the first phase. It will be open only to Saudi and Gulf pilgrims, forecast at some 130,000 Saudis, 10,000 Kuwaitis and 10,000 Bahrainis. While all pilgrims begin the journey in Makkah, the train initially will run only from Mina, to the east, and on to Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat further east. The nine trains can transport 30,000 pilgrims an hour. When the project is complete, there will be 20 trains operational carrying up to 72,000 pilgrims an hour. They are estimated to transport more than 500,000 pilgrims an hour. Tickets are sold to pilgrims at SR250 each, which can be used on all Haj days. On the last day all pilgrims can use the trains at a cost of SR100 a ticket. Groups of 3,000 pilgrims at a time will be able to travel on the trains. Later on Monday pilgrims will descend by train back to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, and Tuesday, Nov. 16, they all head back to Mina, where they stay up to three nights for Eid Al-Adha. Haj is taking place this year in balmy weather, with the temperature hovering between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. While pilgrims do not have to fear the blistering heat normally associated with this part of the world, there have been weather reports indicating some rain. There is a danger of flooding because the holy sites are surrounded by mountains. The authorities, however, have a major plan in place to deal with any flood situation. A number of dams have been built to divert any flood water heading for the valley beds. In addition, a number of shelters have been built at the holy sites to accommodate thousands of pilgrims. If there are heavy downpours, other government and private buildings are available to shelter millions of pilgrims. The authorities also have an extensive network of hospitals and health centers, staffed by thousands of health workers, to treat pilgrims.
