Egyptian pilgrims chant as they ride a bus from Mecca to Mount Arafat yesterday. Amr Nabil / AP Photo
Egyptian pilgrims chant as they ride a bus from Mecca to Mount Arafat yesterday. Amr Nabil / AP Photo

The greatest journey on earth arrives at Mina



On the eighth day of Dhull-Hijja, known as the Day of Tarwiyah, pilgrims follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Mohammed and travel to Mina. Millions of pilgrims create a sea of white as they make their way by bus, car, or even foot, from Mecca to Mina, which is in the east of the city.

Some of the pilgrims travel the 10-kilometre distance through the 58 underground tunnels which are buried in the Mecca mountains. A further 400,000 travel by a newly-built electric railway.

For the journey, every man is required to wear the Ihram, the seamless two-piece white garment around the waist and torso, while the women cover everything apart from their faces and hands.

The emphasis of the Tarwiyah day, which is the first official day of Haj, is on prayer as the men and women gather in 45,000 large fire-resistant tents and spend the day and night in a state of spiritual contemplation as they prepare for the tough days ahead.

The Saudi Minister of Interior, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, said yesterday there were about 1.4 million pilgrims from outside the country who had traveled to undertake the Haj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Today the pilgrims will set off to Mount Arafat before dawn to mark the next stage of the holy journey.

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

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The biog

Name: Greg Heinricks

From: Alberta, western Canada

Record fish: 56kg sailfish

Member of: International Game Fish Association

Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters

Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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