The pilgrims began to pray and supplicate at Mount Arafat near Makkah Al-Mukarramah since dawn on Tuesday, at the peak of the Hajj rituals, which are expected to record record numbers this year in very hot weather.

The nearly two million pilgrims spent the night in air-conditioned camps in the Mina Valley, seven kilometers from the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims.

And in the early hours of Tuesday morning, they headed to the Arafat area, to perform the greatest pillar of the Hajj.

And they will stay all day in the same location, praying and supplications and reciting the Holy Qur’an, and many of them will ascend Mount Mercy and sit among its rocks.

After sunset, the pilgrims head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and Mina, to sleep in the open air, before stoning the Jamarat begins on Wednesday, the first day of Eid al-Adha.

The Egyptian teacher, Tasneem Gamal, 35, still cannot believe that she is among the pilgrims this year, after previous attempts failed.

The young woman, who lives in the Kingdom, said, "I cannot describe my feelings, I live with great joy." Jamal, who came with her friends, benefited from the Saudi authorities' decision to cancel the requirement for a man to accompany women.

The Hajj season is being held this year without any restrictions in terms of numbers or ages of pilgrims, after three years of organizing a limited Hajj due to the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.

The Hajj is usually one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world, and it is among the Five Pillars of Islam, and every Muslim who is able to perform it must do it at least once.

In 2019, about 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world participated in the rituals. However, the outbreak of the Corona virus forced the Saudi authorities to significantly reduce the numbers, so only 60,000 citizens and residents participated in it in 2021, compared to a few thousand in 2020, and 926,000 pilgrims in 2022.

Pilgrims perform rituals, many of them outdoors, despite the sweltering heat.

The National Center of Meteorology predicted that temperatures in Makkah would range between 43-45 degrees during the day during the Hajj season.

The authorities set up many health facilities and mobile clinics, equipped ambulances, and deployed 32,000 paramedics to meet the needs of the pilgrims. She warned the pilgrims against exposure to "sunstrokes".

At Mount Arafat, pilgrims wept as they prayed, holding umbrellas in preparation for the rising temperatures later in the day.

Before heading to Arafat, the American engineer, Ahmed Ahmadine, 37, expressed his happiness that "God chose him from among millions" of Muslims to perform the Hajj.

He continued enthusiastically, "I try to focus on praying for my family and friends, and praying because it is an opportunity that will not be repeated."

And on Wednesday, the pilgrims participate in the stoning of the Jamarat, the last of the most important rituals - which in past years have led to deadly stampedes - before heading to the Grand Mosque in Mecca to perform the "farewell circumambulation" around the Kaaba, on the first days of Eid al-Adha.