Pilgrims flock to Mecca to perform annual haj

2011-10-31T09:00:16Z

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Adalet Gigek sat impatiently in a crowded hotel lobby, waiting for the minibus to take her to Mecca's Grand Mosque for noon prayers as millions of Muslims started arriving in Saudi Arabia before the an...

Abdullah opens work on Mecca mosque extension

2011-08-19T15:00:08Z

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will officially launch a $10.6-billion (7.3-billion-euro) extension project Friday for the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, media reports said.

The project is intended to allow the complex to accommodate some two million worshippers at a time, the daily

Holy Mecca besieged by a jungle of concrete

2010-11-20T17:30:44Z

Modernising the heritage-steeped Muslim holy city of Mecca so it can handle an ever-rising number of pilgrims has resulted in history being lost as it is besieged by a jungle of concrete.

Mecca has historically lived on serving pilgrims who visit for the Umra or lesser pilgrimage all year round, as well as for the hajj, the world's largest annual pilgrimage that this year attracted some 2.8 million people.

The Saudi city lies in a val...

France makes way for Grand Mosque

2010-05-20T09:16:43Z

French Muslims celebrated a milestone on Thursday when work began to build a Grand Mosque in Marseille, the country's biggest and a potent symbol of Islam's place in modern France.

A day after the French government approved a bill banning the full Islamic veil, Muslim leaders and local politicians hailed as "historic" the laying of th...

Hajj winds up with last prayers, souvenir rush

2010-04-16T08:49:36Z

Stoning the devil and circling the Mecca Grand Mosque's kaaba shrine, two million pilgrims began the final rituals of the hajj on Saturday ahead of a massive exodus from Islam's holiest city.

Tens of thousands of the faithful circled the black cubic kaaba at the heart of the mosque in Mecca while many more continued the three-stage ritual of stoning the devil at the jamarat pillars in ...

2.5 million Muslim pilgrims in Saudi for hajj

2010-04-16T08:54:33Z

An estimated 2.5 million Muslims have converged on Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage, as workers toil round the clock to complete construction projects designed to avoid deadly stampedes.

This year's hajj is also taking place amid fears of the spread of swine flu as pilgrims flooded into the kingdom from around the globe.

Four have already died from the A(H1N1) virus, the authorities said, but on Tuesday the health ministry played ...

Muslim pilgrims converge in Saudi city for hajj

2010-04-16T08:55:06Z

An estimated 2.5 million Muslims have converged on Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage, as workers toil round the clock to complete construction projects designed to avoid deadly stampedes.

All of this year's pilgrims were due in the holy city by the end of Tuesday to begin the hajj rites on Wednesday, day one of the six-day season.

The rites begin with the "tawaf," the circling seven times of the cubic Kaaba, the black cube seen at center, inside the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 2.5 million visitors each year...

APTOPIX Mideast Saudi Arabia Hajj

2010-11-14T05:31:38Z

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims moving around the Kaaba, the black cube seen at center, inside the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 2.5 million visitors each year, making it the largest yearly gathering of peop...

APTOPIX Mideast Saudi Hajj

2010-03-29T15:41:52Z

This aerial image made from a helicopter shows tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims moving around the Kaaba, the black cube seen at center, inside the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 3 million visitors each year, m...

Mideast Saudi Hajj

2010-03-29T15:41:54Z

The latest in Grand Mosque