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The walking route features mist sprinklers, but the risk for heat-related illnesses is high, and ambulances and medical stations are positioned along the way to provide medical assistance. During the summer months, daytime temperatures can reach 122☏ (50☌). Day 2Īt dawn on the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, hajjis begin an ≈7.75-mile (12.5-km) trip by foot, shuttle bus, or train to the Plain of Arafat ( Map 10-03 ). On the first day of Hajj (8th day of Dhul Hijjah), hajjis travel by foot or by bus ≈5.5 miles (9 km) to Mina, the largest temporary city in the world, where most stay in air-conditioned tents. Although the actual pilgrimage lasts only 5 days, most foreign pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia for 2-7 weeks. Most international pilgrims fly into Jeddah or Medina and take a bus to Mecca. In both 20, because no cross-border entry into the country was permitted, KSA limited Hajj pilgrims to residents of Saudi Arabia. In 2021, 60,000 were allowed, and in 2022, 1 million pilgrims made the pilgrimage. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, however, only 1,000 pilgrims received permission to perform Hajj in 2020. In a typical year, >11,000 pilgrims travel from the United States. Normally, ≈2–3 million Muslims from >183 countries perform Hajj each year, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues its efforts to allow an even greater number of pilgrims (hajjis) attend. Muslims can perform Umrah, the “minor pilgrimage,” any time of the year unlike Hajj, Umrah is not compulsory. In 2021, for example, Hajj took place from July 17–22, but in 2022, Hajj occurred from July 7–12. The timing of Hajj is based on the Islamic lunar calendar its dates shift relative to the Gregorian calendar, occurring ≈11 days earlier each successive year. Hajj takes place from the 8th through the 12th day of the last month of the Islamic year (Dhul Hijjah). Islamic religious doctrine dictates that every able-bodied adult Muslim who can afford to do so is obligated to make Hajj at least once in their lifetime. Hajj and Umrah are religious pilgrimages to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.