72,000 Turkish pilgrims arrive in S.Arabia for Hajj
ANKARA. KAZINFORM At least 72,000 Turkish pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, according to a local religious official.
Hajj, aspiritual journey to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, takes place in theMuslim month of Zilhaj. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, obligatory onall Muslims who can afford it at least once in their lifetime, Anadolu Agency reports.
This year atotal of 80,000 Turkish pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj, Turkey'sReligious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) said Tuesday.
The firstgroup of Hajj pilgrims from Turkey arrived in Medina on July 5.
Some 60% ofthe pilgrims are going to perform their holy duty under the directorate, whilethe rest will be using other travel agencies, said Muhammed Zeyd Ozel, Medinacoordinator of Diyanet, according to its newsletter.
He addedthat more pilgrims will arrive in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
OnWednesday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced that a total of 745,472pilgrims have reached Medina so far from all over the world.