By using this website you agree that we use cookies. You can find out more in the privacy policy.
Bombay Durpun - Elderly Muslims perform hajj after restrictions lifted
-
-
Choose a language
Automatically close in : 3
Wie gewohnt mit Werbung lesen
Nutzen Sie Bombay Durpun mit personalisierter Werbung, Werbetracking, Nutzungsanalyse und externen Multimedia-Inhalten. Details zu Cookies und Verarbeitungszwecken sowie zu Ihrer jederzeitigen Widerrufsmöglichkeit finden Sie unten, im Cookie-Manager sowie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
Use Bombay Durpun with personalised advertising, ad tracking, usage analysis and external multimedia content. Details on cookies and processing purposes as well as your revocation option at any time can be found below, in the cookie manager as well as in our privacy policy.
Utilizar Bombay Durpun con publicidad personalizada, seguimiento de anuncios, análisis de uso y contenido multimedia externo. Los detalles sobre las cookies y los propósitos de procesamiento, así como su opción de revocación en cualquier momento, se pueden encontrar a continuación, en el gestor de cookies, así como en nuestra política de privacidad.
Utilisez le Bombay Durpun avec des publicités personnalisées, un suivi publicitaire, une analyse de l'utilisation et des contenus multimédias externes. Vous trouverez des détails sur les cookies et les objectifs de traitement ainsi que sur votre possibilité de révocation à tout moment ci-dessous, dans le gestionnaire de cookies ainsi que dans notre déclaration de protection des données.
Utilizzare Bombay Durpun con pubblicità personalizzata, tracciamento degli annunci, analisi dell'utilizzo e contenuti multimediali esterni. I dettagli sui cookie e sulle finalità di elaborazione, nonché la possibilità di revocarli in qualsiasi momento, sono riportati di seguito nel Cookie Manager e nella nostra Informativa sulla privacy.
Utilizar o Bombay Durpun com publicidade personalizada, rastreio de anúncios, análise de utilização e conteúdo multimédia externo. Detalhes sobre cookies e fins de processamento, bem como a sua opção de revogação em qualquer altura, podem ser encontrados abaixo, no Gestor de Cookies, bem como na nossa Política de Privacidade.
Alsafi Mansur's "lifelong" wish to take part in the hajj pilgrimage came true this year, after Saudi Arabia lifted curbs that kept the elderly away from the compulsory Islamic ritual.
Text size:
"I feared that I would die before performing hajj," said the 71-year-old Libyan national, carrying his medication along for the trip.
"Hajj has been a lifelong wish for me," the father-of-seven said at Mount Arafat, praying under temperatures that peaked at 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
The hajj, which costs at least $5,000 a person, is among the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims who have the means to do so at least once in their lives.
But restrictions to contain the Covid-19 pandemic saw Saudi authorities limit the number of pilgrims in 2020 and introduce an age cap of 65.
The measures were finally cancelled in January this year, making way for the largest hajj since the pandemic, with thousands of elderly among the worshippers.
"I feel great joy, and I hope God bestows this experience on everyone," said Mansur, who had been saving for decades for the trip.
- Endurance test -
The hajj -- a days-long ritual that mostly takes place outdoors -- is an arduous experience even for younger pilgrims in the summer heat.
At least 287 people have suffered from heat stroke and exhaustion this year as temperatures soared, according to the Saudi health ministry.
Throughout Mecca and Madina, Islam's holiest cities, the elderly can be seen being pushed in wheelchairs or leaning on walking sticks, assisted by relatives.
Paramedics and police officers offered relief by spraying them with water or fanning their faces with folded cardboard.
In the white-tented city of Mina, some even sought shelter from the sun by lying under parked trucks.
Shaaban al-Sisi, a 67-year-old Egyptian pilgrim, said the heat was not enough, he also had to struggle with a chronic heart condition.
"The hot temperatures are exhausting for me. But I won't leave...until I perform all the rituals," he said.
Saudi authorities have dispatched more than 32,000 health workers to help fend off heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion, especially among the elderly.
- 'Before I die' -
More than 1.8 million worshippers are taking part in this year's hajj, a dramatic increase on the 926,000 from last year, when numbers were capped at one million.
Only 10,000 were allowed in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, rising to nearly 59,000 a year later.
Many Muslims prefer to embark on the pilgrimage at a younger age, knowing the physical challenges.
But modest finances force others to wait until they can afford it -- a process that could last well after retirement.
Sitting under a green umbrella, Fadia Abdullah said she felt "the joy of the whole world" after finally making it to hajj.
"I am living a moment that I have waited a lifetime for," the 67-year-old Egyptian woman said.
Rahim, an Indonesian pilgrim who only goes by his first name, complained of "extreme crowding".
"My dream of hajj has come true again before I die," said the 76-year-old.