Hajj 2013: Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca Ends

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
By Sanskrity Sinha

Muslim pilgrims pray at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca during Hajj 2013. (Photo: REUTERS)

SAUDIA ARABIA---Hajj 2013, the annual pilgrimage of the Muslims, ended with Eid al-Adha celebrations on 16 October as pilgrims prayed at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. An estimated two million Muslim pilgrims from around the world gathered in Mecca for the Hajj, which began on 14 October. Muslim pilgrims travel to the Mina Valley following in the footsteps of their prophet Muhammad after offering prayers at Kaaba - the black cuboid-shaped holy structure at the centre of the Grand Mosque. Muhammad is supposed to have visited Mecca from Medina in the seventh century AD and that eventually became the first Hajj, giving rise to this annual pilgrimage tradition of the Muslims. [link]

A Muslim pilgrim prays atop Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat during the peak of the annual haj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca. (Photo: REUTERS)