Haj pilgrims arrive by the hundreds of thousands at Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for the Day of Arafat.<br/> <br />This is the climax of the Haj, where pilgrims spend the day in prayer.<br/> <br />The hilltop and the surrounding plain is where the Prophet Mohammad is believed to have delivered his final Haj sermon before his death.<br/> <br />One Syrian pilgrim told Reuters the he is praying for an end to unrest in his homeland.<br/> <br />The Haj is an annual pilgrimage mandatory once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.<br/> <br />Many Muslims spend years looking forward to the journey.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EGYPTIAN PILGRIM, SAHAR HANAFI, SAYING:<br/> <br />"For five years I have been hoping to come. I used to cry each time I saw the pilgrims on TV until finally God brought me here and I witnessed it."<br/> <br />The annual Haj begins in the 12th month of the Islamic year, which is lunar, not solar.
