Nigeria, June 6 -- Over 1.6 million Muslim pilgrims prayed atop Mount Arafat on Thursday as the annual Hajj pilgrimage climaxed.

They carried out the religious exercise under the scorching sun in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Officials had advised the pilgrims to stay in their designated tents to avoid sunstroke during the hottest hours of the day.

PREMIUM TIMES' reporter at the Hajj observed thousands of pilgrims gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain where Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon in his first and last pilgrimage.

The pilgrims arrived at Mount Arafat from Mina, another ritual site, early to take advantage of the relatively cool morning.

Some remained in their tents until the ev...