MINA, Saudi Arabia, Jan 18 (AFP) - Nearly two million Muslim faithful from across the globe were preparing Tuesday to spend the night in a city of tents in a valley close to Mecca on the first leg of the annual hajj journey.
Bus convoys ferried the pilgrims from Mecca to the canvas tents for the overnight wait for the climax of the hajj, which will come early Wednesday when they ascend Mount Arafat.
Camps have been designated in accordance with the home countries of the pilgrims, some 1.5 million of whom have come from abroad while the rest are Saudis or Muslim expatriates living in the kingdom.
Queues formed in front of thousands of wash basins installed at the entrances of the camps to enable pilgrims to perform their ablutions before prayer as kiosk vendors peddled sandwiches and soft drinks.
The men wore two-piece seamless white cloths in keeping with tradition, while women were fully covered except for their hands and faces.
Some of the pilgrims were due to spend the night on pavements, either because they are too poor or because they do not have the Saudi permit to take part in the hajj, the key to unlocking the tent doors.
Gas stoves have been banned ever since a huge fire killed 343 faithful in Mina in 1997.
Thousands of Saudi police regulated traffic, directing bus drivers heading to the camps, set up on just two square kilometres (less than a square mile) of a valley surrounded by arid hills.
Firemen and civil defense teams stood ready to handle any mishap while Red Crescent nurses and volunteers from several Arab countries treated sick pilgrims in makeshift clinics set up inside the tents.
Saudi Arabia, which has been battling a wave of unrest by Al-Qaeda-linked militants for the past 20 months, has deployed more than 50,000 security men to ward off any trouble during the hajj.
After performing the ritual symbolizing the Last Judgement on Mount Arafat, the pilgrims will return to Mecca on Thursday, the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice.
Most will sacrifice an animal, generally a sheep, in remembrance of Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to God.
On Friday and Saturday, they will return to Mina to stone the "jamarat", or three pillars symbolizing the devil -- the ultimate but also the most dangerous ritual.
Stampedes at the stoning site have left hundreds dead in previous years, including 251 in 2004.
A total of 28 million dollars have been spent on modernizing the "jamarat" since the pilgrims were trampled or suffocated to death during a crush while performing the stoning ritual last year.
The pillars have been replaced by 25 metre (80 feet) high walls which stones can hit more easily, and the concrete enclosure of the site has been coated with rubber to dampen the shocks.
Cameras and censors have been installed to enable security forces to intervene rapidly in case of a rush or reduce the flow of pilgrims if the place becomes dangerously crowded.
All Muslims are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to do so.
01/18/2005 16:24 GMT - AFP