LONDON(RAHNUMA): Hundreds of Syrians departed from Damascus international airport for Saudi Arabia on Sunday as authorities began operating flights for pilgrims participating in the Hajj season.
Two flights left from Damascus with 680 Syrian pilgrims to Jeddah, from where they will travel to Makkah, according to the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority.
On Saturday, the first flight carrying 340 pilgrims from Syria took off. In the coming days, about 12,900 pilgrims will travel through Damascus, with around 9,000 departing from Aleppo international airport heading to perform Hajj, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every non-disabled Muslim is required to undertake the pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in their life. This year, it is expected to take place from May 24-29, and thousands of Muslims have already arrived in Saudi Arabia to prepare for it.
Last year, 1,673,230 pilgrims performed Hajj, according to the General Authority for Statistics, of whom 166,654 were citizens or residents, and the rest came from outside the Kingdom.
