Muslims pray at the Grand mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia August 29, 2017. Picture taken August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
CAIRO - 10 August 2018: EgyptAir operated Friday 15 flights, transporting 3350 Egyptian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj rituals.
The national airlines is operating 10 flights to Jeddah and 5 other to Medina carrying a total of 3350 pilgrims to perform Hajj rituals due to start in the third week of August.
The first flight to Medina took off Thursday, carrying pilgrims from Giza and Port Said, according to the chairman of EgyptAir.
Earlier Friday, Ministry of Health announced the death of the fifth case among Egyptian pilgrims in Saudi territories, named Ramadan Abdel Sattar, 66, from Fayoum Governorate.
Hajj, a five-day ritual retracing the journey of Prophet Mohammad that took place 14 centuries ago, is a religious duty to be carried out once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it physically and financially.
It is the world's largest annual Muslim gathering, with over 2.3 million people attending this year. The faithful come from almost all country in the world, speaking dozens of different languages and sometimes practicing different Islamic sects.
Saudi authorities announced more than 2 million Muslims participated in 2017’s hajj season.
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