Riyadh: The first batch of Haj pilgrims arrived at Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz international airport in Madinah and King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The first batch of Haj pilgrims arrived from India, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh. The pilgrims were presented with flowers, dates and Zamzam water bottles upon arrival.
567 Malaysian pilgrims arrived at Madinah airport from Kuala Lumpur Airport.
419 Bangladesgi pilgrims arrived at Jeddah airport through the Makkah Route initiative lounge at Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport in the capital, Dhaka.
This comes as part of the “Makkah Route” initiative.
Watch the arrival of the first batch of Haj pilgrims below
What is Haj?
The Haj pilgrimage to Makkah is a mandatory religious duty that must be performed by those Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform it, at least once in a lifetime.
The Kingdom expects to receive two million pilgrims during this season.
The number of pilgrims during the 2022 season reached 899,353, including 779,919 from outside the Kingdom, while the 2021 season was limited to 60,000, compared to only 10,000 in 2020.
