Word: mecca
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...just how did Aulnay - a town of 80,000 about 10 miles northeast of Paris - become a mecca for the blues and a contender for a Grammy that's previously been won by the likes of B.B. King, Etta James, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker? It's in part due to the town's efforts to move beyond the violence of 2005 and find a different focus and identity for its inhabitants. One manner of doing that, Beldjoudi says, was to delve into and highlight the different cultural and artistic influences that generations of immigrants had brought to Aulnay...
...Hajj consists of a five-day excursion, required by all physically and financially able Muslims, to Mecca and the nearby holy sites of Arafat, Mina, and Muzdalifah. Once there, pilgrims perform a series of rituals to unify themselves with other believers, absolve themselves of their sins and pay tribute...
...While the Hajj normally attracts pilgrims from all sects of Islam and all walks of life, concerns over swine flu have cast a shadow over this year's event; the prospect of millions of potential flu carriers mingling in Mecca has given health experts fits. Four early pilgrims have already died from the virus and Saudi officials have enacted a number of measures to combat the spread of the disease. Along with screening for flu-like symptoms at the Jeddah airport and distributing hygiene kits, health ministers have recommended that pregnant women, children and elderly worshipers stay home...
...ultimate rite of passage during the Hajj is circling the Kaaba, an immense black cube, spiritually considered by Muslims to be the center of the world, and literally located in the center of the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca. During the Hajj, vast swells of worshippers seeking forgiveness circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise, seven times. Completion of all of the mandated rituals is believed the guarantee the pilgrim a place in heaven as well as the title of hajji (literally, one who has performed the Hajj) - coveted and admired in Muslim communities around the world...
...Though only a fraction of Muslims are capable of making the pilgrimage, the huge crowds of worshipers that descend upon Mecca every year continually test the site's ability to accommodate their number. The Saudi Arabian government has spent billions to expand and improve the structure of the site, erecting tents to accommodate pilgrims and building multi-level pathways to eliminate congestion. Overcrowding and occasional stampedes have led to the deaths by trampling of thousands of worshippers over the years; most notably the 1990 incident where 1,426 people were crushed inside a tunnel connecting the Holy sites. While there...