1979 Stoning the Devils --at Mina, a tiny old town near Mecca. Leading into this humble settlement are great pedestrian walkways, wider than most motorways. They reach into the centre where three huge pillars represent Satan and the lesser devils who tempted Abraham to disobey God's orders to sacrifice his son Ismael at this site. Pilgrims swarm around these pillars on two levels and stone them with pebbles which they have collected at Muzdalifah. It is a symbolic rejection of evil. If they miss the pillar they must repeat the throw. This done they shave their heads or clip a lock of hair as a token of cleanliness and remove the Ihram and don their brightest clothes as a prelude to the greatest feast of Islam, Id al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice.

[Stamped Camerapix, Nairobi]