28 Turkish pilgrims die during Hajj pilgrimage season

MECCA, Saudi Arabia  

At least 28 Turkish pilgrims died during the period of Hajj in Saudi Arabia, Turkey’s top cleric told reporters on Monday.

"28 Turkish citizens passed away during the Hajj pilgrimage season," Ali Erbas, head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, said.

Erbas also wished God's mercy to those who died and conveyed condolences to their relatives.

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

While the Hajj is generally associated with the Prophet Muhammad, who lived in the seventh century, Muslims believe that the pilgrimage to Mecca dated back to pre-Islamic era.

The pilgrimage takes place every year from the 8 to 12 of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar.

On these five days, Muslim pilgrims converge in Mecca, where they circumambulate the Kaaba seven times; run between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah; drink sacred waters of Zamzam; stand vigil in the valley of Arafat; and, lastly, symbolically throw stones at the devil.

Because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the date of the Hajj as per solar calendar change every year.

* Writing and contribution by Jeyhun Aliyev