Pilgrims to Learn about Hajj Rituals at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium
To teach them about the Hajj rituals, a special educational program is planned to be held at the city’s Azadi Stadium later this week.
The Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization will hold the program on Friday, July 14.
Replicas of the Kaaba, Safa and Marwa, and other places where Hajj rituals are performed have been prepared to help the pilgrims better learn how to perform the rituals.
The participants in the program will also receive cultural packages.
This year, Iran will send some 86,500 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
Iran announced in mid-March that applicants can go on Hajj pilgrimage this year following negotiations with Saudi officials after a hiatus in the wake of a diplomatic row with the kingdom.
In 2016, more than 1.8 million pilgrims attended Hajj, but Iranians stayed at home after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly crush of people during the 2015 pilgrimage.
On September 2, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the deadly crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.
The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. According to an Associated Press count based on official statements from the 36 countries that lost citizens in the disaster, more than 2,400 pilgrims were killed in the incident.
