A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

As Hajj Ends, Rain Falls in Mecca ... Again

On the second day of stoning the devil, as the Hajj draws to an end, the skies have opened and it has rained in Mecca and Mina. Many hajjis are seeing it as a sign from heaven that their sacrifices have been acceptable. And curiously, last year heavy rains and flooding hit Mecca at the beginning of the Hajj.

Average precipitation in Mecca is just over an inch a year, which would seem to suggest something unusual is happening for it to rain two years running, but then again, more than half of that inch of rain falls in November, and since the feast moves around the calendar, and has been in November the past two years, perhaps it's natural. Or global warming.

3 comments:

Arastotle sønn Plato sønn Socrates sønn said...

Could you please state when precisely the rains start in Mecca on Wednesday night?

Michael Collins Dunn said...

All I can do is refer you to the linked article.

Unknown said...
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