Pilgrims prepare for final Hajj rituals

MUZDALIFAH: Massive throngs of pilgrims headed for the town of Muzdalifah to collect stones for the final ritual of Hajj which marks the first day of Eid al-Azha, the feast of sacrifice.

Men, women and children from 189 countries flooded roads linking Mount Arafat, where they had spent the peak Hajj day in prayer and reflection, to Muzdalifah.

After Fajr prayers in Muzdalifa, the pilgrims will leave for Mina to perform ‘Ramy al-Jamarat’, the symbolic "stoning of the devil" which begins in the early Friday hours is followed by the ritual sacrifice of an animal, usually a lamb.

While many came by bus or used the Mashair Railway track linking the three holy sites of Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina, hundreds of thousands were on foot.

Some carried small children on their shoulders while others pushed elderly pilgrims on wheelchairs.

Cars, buses and the avalanche of humans -- men in white "Ihram" shrouds and women covered from head to foot except for their hands and faces -- all moved together as police and ambulance sirens sounded into the early evening.

A massive security presence had the near impossible task of controlling the chaos caused by the simultaneous movement of upwards of 2.5 million people towards the same destination.(AFP)