Holy Sites – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived at the holy site of Mina on Sunday to review the situation during the Hajj season this year.

The king was received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Interior and Chairman of Supreme Hajj Committee.

During the reception, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard; Prince Dr. Khalid bin Faisal bin Turki, Undersecretary of Ministry of National Guard for Western Sector; Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz; Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz; and Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Minister of Interior were present.

Earlier, it was announced that King Salman hosted 2,400 men and women to perform the Hajj including 1,000 of the parents of Palestinian martyrs.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef arrived on Saturday to the holy sites to oversee the procedures of Hajj and ensure all the rituals are done easily and safely. He also reviewed the general plan for the transportation of the pilgrims between the holy sites.

Pilgrims of all races and nationalities headed to Arafat mountain on Sunday for the Hajj climax.

People from over 160 different countries with different languages all dressed in white, stood on the plains of Arafat asking for forgiveness and praying for God.

Monday morning, pilgrims and Muslims all over the world, celebrate Eid al-Adha, while the pilgrims head to Muzdalifa to collect pebbles to stone the Satan as Prophet Mohammed did years ago.

Pilgrims then complete their rituals by shaving their heads, or shortening their hair, after which they are released from Ihram state and they go back to Makkah for Tawaf al-Ifada.

For his part, Prince Khalid al-Faisal, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ advisor and Governor of Makkah Region as well as Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, announced that the pilgrims completed on Sunday evening departure from Arafat flexibly and easily describing it as “unprecedented flow”.

During an interview with Saudi First Channel on Sunday at Mount Arafat, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal has commended the huge efforts exerted by the participants in the service of pilgrims.

He praised the role of Saudi youth participating in serving pilgrims, stressing that all services being provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pilgrims is part of its duty, especially as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is paying great attention to serving pilgrims.

The prince also spoke of the e-bracelet introduced this year during the Hajj season. He added that the bracelet is part of turning Makkah into a smart city and using electronics for Hajj rituals.

Prince Faisal said that the number of illegal pilgrims was 5% this year, after it was 9% in 2015. He added this only means that the organizational plans are working to ensure there are no illegitimate pilgrims in the years to come.

The prince explained that Saudi Arabia is doing its best to ensure the safety and success of the Hajj season. He added that Saudi Arabia is envied for serving the pilgrims, saying that this is a good thing to be envied for. He added that despite hatred, Saudi Arabia is stronger.

Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee thanked all the workers in this year’s Hajj season telling them: “I am proud of you and of the services you provide to the pilgrims. What I witness on the streets makes every Saudi proud.”

The chairman said that he feels happy and proud to be a Saudi when he hears that Saudis are hosting pilgrims in their own homes.

In Mina, Prince Khalid met with the boy scouts that were deployed to help pilgrims and serve them in the holy sites. Around 7,662 boy scouts were sent to help the pilgrims where they guided 1,914 lost pilgrims back to their groups.

Major-General Sulaiman Al-Amro, Director-General of Saudi Civil Defense, said that the civil defense’s plan for safety was successful and no incident threatening the safety of the pilgrims has been registered.

Saline Water Conversion Corporation and National Water Company said that the largest amount of saline water has been distributed to pilgrims this year.

The companies revealed that 800,000 cubic meters of saline water were produced for pilgrims in Makkah and the Holy sites and about 340,000 cubic meters were produced to Arafat.