mekka sits in the western mountains of
Saudi Arabia in a sanctuary roughly 100
miles square since long before Islam it
has been considered sacred territory
where no one could hunt cut trees or
fight at the heart of the city is a
great mosque called al-masjid al-haram
and at its center is the Kaaba Muslims
don’t worship the Kaaba they worship
what it represents the One God Hajj
takes place in and around Mecca it is a
series of rituals performed between the
8th and 13th days of the last month of
the Islamic calendar while circling the
Kaaba is the final act of the pilgrimage
it is also the top priority for pilgrims
when they first get to Mecca for Muslims
who have prayed in this direction every
day for years seeing the Kaaba for the
first time is almost overwhelming
now to the valley of Mina where the
Prophet Muhammad stopped and rested on
his Hajj nearly 14 centuries ago this is
a town that grows from virtually zero to
two million people overnight at dawn on
the next day the camps stir with
anticipation for the greatest day of the
Hajj two million people are off to the
plain of Arafat
some 50,000 vehicles clogged the roads
arafat is eight miles east of minner
it’s the place
Muslims believe Adam and Eve found each
other after exile from Eden and it’s
seen by many as a rehearsal for the day
in China
it’s Judgment Day all the trappings of
lives were to fall away and you see
these people in front of God Almighty
and that’s all there is a strange quiet
descends in the afternoon as people turn
inward it’s called the standing at
Arafat
only when the Sun has set can pilgrims
leave arafat nearly two million people
stand poised to move as soon as the Sun
dips below the horizon the pilgrims move
back toward the white tents of Miller
where tomorrow they will engage in a
symbolic battle with the devil here
Muslims believe God asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son but the devil
challenged him not to one story says
Abraham held to the devil with stones
three separate times chasing him away
three stone pillars mark the spots where
Abraham stood his ground at a place
called Mose deliver on the way to the
pillars pilgrims pick up pebbles to
stone Satan themselves the ritual is
called the Jamaat with all other rights
complete pilgrims return to Mecca for a
grand parting visit they have all earned
an honorific title Hajji for the men
Hodja for the women
pilgrims arrived alone in a current of a
million strangers and go home writing a
spiritual wave of rebirth
Saudi Arabia in a sanctuary roughly 100
miles square since long before Islam it
has been considered sacred territory
where no one could hunt cut trees or
fight at the heart of the city is a
great mosque called al-masjid al-haram
and at its center is the Kaaba Muslims
don’t worship the Kaaba they worship
what it represents the One God Hajj
takes place in and around Mecca it is a
series of rituals performed between the
8th and 13th days of the last month of
the Islamic calendar while circling the
Kaaba is the final act of the pilgrimage
it is also the top priority for pilgrims
when they first get to Mecca for Muslims
who have prayed in this direction every
day for years seeing the Kaaba for the
first time is almost overwhelming
now to the valley of Mina where the
Prophet Muhammad stopped and rested on
his Hajj nearly 14 centuries ago this is
a town that grows from virtually zero to
two million people overnight at dawn on
the next day the camps stir with
anticipation for the greatest day of the
Hajj two million people are off to the
plain of Arafat
some 50,000 vehicles clogged the roads
arafat is eight miles east of minner
it’s the place
Muslims believe Adam and Eve found each
other after exile from Eden and it’s
seen by many as a rehearsal for the day
in China
it’s Judgment Day all the trappings of
lives were to fall away and you see
these people in front of God Almighty
and that’s all there is a strange quiet
descends in the afternoon as people turn
inward it’s called the standing at
Arafat
only when the Sun has set can pilgrims
leave arafat nearly two million people
stand poised to move as soon as the Sun
dips below the horizon the pilgrims move
back toward the white tents of Miller
where tomorrow they will engage in a
symbolic battle with the devil here
Muslims believe God asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son but the devil
challenged him not to one story says
Abraham held to the devil with stones
three separate times chasing him away
three stone pillars mark the spots where
Abraham stood his ground at a place
called Mose deliver on the way to the
pillars pilgrims pick up pebbles to
stone Satan themselves the ritual is
called the Jamaat with all other rights
complete pilgrims return to Mecca for a
grand parting visit they have all earned
an honorific title Hajji for the men
Hodja for the women
pilgrims arrived alone in a current of a
million strangers and go home writing a
spiritual wave of rebirth
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