Thousands of pilgrims began to gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon.
While some arrived early to take advantage of the relatively cool morning, carrying colorful umbrellas, many pilgrims will remain for hours of prayers and Qur’an recitals until the evening in the most arduous portion of the Hajj.
After sunset they will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles so they can perform the symbolic “stoning of the devil.”
“This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during Hajj and I always thought: ‘I wish I could be here’,” said 33-year-old Ali from Pakistan, one of 1.5 million pilgrims who had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.
“I’ve been trying to get here... for the past 3 years,” he added as he gazed at the mount. “I feel very blessed.”
Hundreds of pilgrims dressed in white dotted the mount itself, with many more at its foot praying or taking pictures.
Earlier this week, Saudi authorities called on pilgrims to stay inside their tents between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, when the desert sun is at its harshest.
Fans spraying mist and providing cool air were dispersed at the foot of the mount.
Temperatures this year have already exceeded 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit) as one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, bringing together devotees from around the globe, kicked off earlier this week.
“I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent,” said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria.
To make this year’s pilgrimage safer, authorities have expanded infrastructure, deployed thousands of extra personnel and relied on an arsenal of high-tech tools to help better manage crowds.
Authorities have mobilized more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness.
Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square meters (12 acres), thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, the Hajj minister has said.
Through tears of joy, Iman Abdel Khaleq said she had wanted to perform the Hajj for 10 years and was overwhelmed with emotion as she arrived at Arafat.
“It’s a big dream for me that I had almost given hope up of realizing,” the woman in her fifties said from the foot of the mount.
