A record number of foreigners attended the largest religious gathering in the world this year, said Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdel-Aziz.
In his report to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, the minister said that over 1.7 million people had arrived in Mecca to perform the hajj rituals.
Pilgrims, including 26,000 Russian Muslims, will spend the whole day at Mount Arafat, the site where the Prophet Mohammad addressed his followers with his last sermon. According to the prophet, Arafat is the best place to address Allah, who, Muslims believe, descends on this day of hajj to the lowest level of heaven.
Failure to be present on the plains of Arafat on this day invalidates the entire hajj pilgrimage.
After sunset, pilgrims throw stones from the Jamarat Bridge at a pillar representing Satan. According to Saudi media, local authorities have already prepared over 300 tons of stones for the ceremony.
On Wednesday the pilgrims will descend from the mountain to celebrate Eid Al-Adha, a holiday to mark Prophet Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his son Ismail upon instructions from God.
Many Muslims believe that death during the hajj is a blessing. The highest death toll during the hajj was in 1990, when 1426 people were killed during a stampede in a Mecca tunnel.
This year, Saudi authorities have tightened security and over 50,000 soldiers have been deployed in the area. They have also added a third level to the Jamarat Bridge, where over 360 people died in 2006, to try and ease congestion.
This year, over 10 pilgrims have been killed and 40 injured in two bus accidents on the Al-Riyadh - Mecca highway. Another bus crash has claimed three lives. According to the Saudi media, the pilgrims who died in the accidents were from Syria, Egypt, Sudan, the Philippines and India.
