Around 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims headed to Mount Arefat in Saudi Arabia, where the central and most important ritual of the Hajj is being performed today, reports Anadolu.
Convoys of pilgrims were closely monitored by security forces deployed along the routes and footpaths to manage the crowds according to approved plans, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The agency announced that there were no traffic delays as the pilgrims traveled from Mina to Arafat. On Arafat, he will perform midday and afternoon prayers in combined and abbreviated forms at the Namirah Mosque.
At sunset, they will proceed to Muzdalifah, where they will perform the sunset prayer and the night prayer, the akshaam and the yazia, and then stay overnight until dawn the next day.
The Hajj officially began on Monday with the arrival of pilgrims in Mina, in the western part of Saudi Arabia, with increased security measures and organization to facilitate the stay and movement of millions of worshippers.
The six-day Hajj season includes a stop at Arefat on Tuesday, an overnight stay in Muzdalifah, a symbolic stoning ritual and a farewell tour of the Kaaba, the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The ceremony consists of several rituals that symbolize the key values of the Islamic faith and remind us of the trials that prophet Ibrahim and his family went through.
Saudi authorities have expanded organizational and security measures for the 2026 Hajj season, including the use of surveillance technologies and crowd-monitoring systems to manage the movement of pilgrims and prevent unauthorized entry into holy sites.
