The number of pilgrims to visit Madinah after the Hajj pilgrimage has reached 173,905, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The city co-ordinated arrangements to be able to welcome pilgrims arriving to pray at the Prophet’s Mosque and visit prominent Islamic landmarks after the end of the Hajj season.
The number of arrivals for Thursday, according to the Hajj and Visit Committee, was 40,591 pilgrims, of whom 35,855 arrived aboard 945 flights. The Pilgrims Centre, meanwhile, received 2,566 and the Haramain train station received 2,170 pilgrims.
Hajj 2023 ended on Saturday and many pilgrims who did not visit Islam’s second holiest city before their pilgrimage headed to Madinah this week.
Last year, Saudi authorities allowed one million pilgrims to participate in Hajj. This year, the number exceeded 1.8 million.
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The Grand Mosque seen from the Clock Tower in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, during the Hajj pilgrimage. AP -
Pilgrims pray in front of the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in Makkah. AP -
Pilgrims in the Grand Mosque. Photo: Hajj Ministry -
Pilgrims praying in Mina, near Makkah. AFP -
The Grand Mosque in Makkah with its clock tower and the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, in the centre. AFP -
Pilgrims crowd Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat, also known as the Mount of Mercy, during the Hajj pilgrimage. AFP -
Tents housing pilgrims in Mina for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. SPA -
Pilgrims on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage. SPA -
Pilgrims pray on the Mount of Mercy on the plain of Arafat. Reuters -
Pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba in Makkah. Reuters -
Doves and pilgrims outside the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Reuters -
Saudi security forces parade in Makkah as Muslim pilgrims from around the world arrive for the Hajj. AFP -
Buses used to transport pilgrims at a station in Makkah during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. SPA -
A pilgrim holds an umbrella as his wife prays, before they cast stones at a pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil, in Mina, south-east of the holy city of Makkah, during the Hajj. AP
