穆斯林開始一年一度的麥加朝聖

Nearly 2 million Muslims from around the world have begun the yearly hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at Mecca, Islam's holiest site.

The faithful started the annual five-day ritual Sunday with walking counterclockwise around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure at the center of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which Muslims believe is the spot where the Prophet Abraham built his first temple.

Observant Muslims around the world face toward the Kaaba during their five daily prayers.

During the hajj, devoted Muslims perform a series of religious rituals. In addition to walking around the Kaaba, they also drink the alkaline water from the Well of Zamzam, believed to have healing qualities. They also perform a symbolic stoning of the devil.

The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam and all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to do so are expected to take part in the hajj at least once in their lifetimes.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has urged pilgrims to think of their safety in hopes of preventing stampedes that in previous years have led to deaths. During the 2015 hajj, a stampede among pilgrims in the city of Mina, where some of the deadliest incidents have occurred, killed at least 2,426 people, according to the Associated Press.

The ministry on Sunday urged "brother and sister pilgrims" to pay attention to scheduling of rituals to avoid the dangers of overcrowding.來自世界各地大約2百萬穆斯林已經在伊斯蘭最神聖的地點、沙特阿拉伯的麥加開始一年一度的朝聖活動。

朝聖者星期天圍繞着麥加大寺院中心的方型聖堂逆時針行走，開始了今年爲期5天的朝聖活動。穆斯林人認爲，先知亞卜拉欣在那裏修建了他的第一座寺院。

世界各地的穆斯林會面朝麥加聖堂每天做5次禱告。

在朝聖期間，虔誠的穆斯林人會舉行一系列的宗教儀式。除了圍繞聖堂行走外，他們還會喝被認爲具有治癒效果的、來自滲滲泉的鹼水,並舉行向惡魔投石的象徵性儀式。

麥加朝聖是伊斯蘭信仰五大支柱之一，所有力所能及的穆斯林人一生中應至少一次參與朝聖。

沙特阿拉伯主管相關事務的部門敦促朝聖者注意安全，以免發生往年出現過的致命踩踏事件。據美聯社報道，2015年，米納市在舉行朝聖活動時發生的踩踏事件導致2400多人死亡。

沙特有關部門星期天敦促“兄弟姐妹朝聖者”注意各項儀式的時間，以免出現過於擁擠的危險。