ISTANBUL

Nearly 2 million pilgrims in Saudi Arabia began the final stage of the Hajj pilgrimage on Saturday by performing the ritual stoning of the devil at Mina before concluding their pilgrimage with the farewell circumambulation at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

According to Saudi state broadcaster Al-Ekhbariya and live local media coverage monitored by Anadolu, early groups of pilgrims arrived at the Jamarat complex in Mina and performed the stoning ritual.

In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi Interior Ministry urged pilgrims to strictly follow designated routes for going to and returning from the Jamarat complex.

The Saudi General Authority for Statistics announced that the number of Hajj pilgrims for the 1446 AH Islamic calendar year is 1,673,230, including 1,506,576 who arrived from outside the kingdom.

The number of domestic pilgrims, Saudi citizens and residents, is 166,654.

Last year, over 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims from 200 countries around the world performed the Hajj.

The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of the Islamic faith, a ritual that must be performed by all Muslims, if financially viable, at least once in their lives.

The Hajj includes a number of rituals aimed at illustrating the fundamental concepts of Islam and commemorating the Prophet Abraham and his family's trials.