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Millions of Muslims seek forgiveness at haj

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-08 07:39

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia -- Nearly 3 million Muslim pilgrims gathered around a mountain east of Mecca Sunday at the peak of the haj to beg God's forgiveness, chanting: "O God, I am answering your call!".

Muslim pilgrims leave the plains of Arafat outside the holy city of Mecca December 7, 2008. More than two million Muslims began the haj pilgrimage on Saturday, heading to a tent camp outside Mecca to follow the route Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago. [Agencies]

At noon, pilgrims were still trickling into the area filled with thousands of tents in the plain of Arafat, 15 km east of Mecca where they will pray until sunset. Men in white seamless robes and veiled women in long dresses wept with emotion under the desert sun while sprinklers on top of towering posts sprayed water to cool the air. The weather was mild by Saudi standards at around 30 Celsius.

"Being here is better than anything I had ever experienced ... better than the time I saw my children for the first time," said Rawya Muhammad, a secretary from Egypt.

Rawya was one of many who arrived before dawn, some on foot, others on buses and thousands on top of any vehicle they could find.

"I feel privileged. I am one in a million Muslims with the honor of performing pilgrimage this year. This is a reward," said Omar Salah, a 38-year-old engineer from Egypt.

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