MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) – About 300 people needed medical attention after standing in a huge line to see Muslim holy relics exhibited in the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, an official said Friday.
An exhibition featuring a hair and a footprint of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, his clothes and a vessel he drank from – along with more items that belonged to his offspring and early followers – opened in Makhachkala on Tuesday.
“People sought medical help because of the heat and a long wait” Thursday, a representative of Dagestan’s Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti. Only one person was hospitalized, and others received help on the spot, the representative said.
The exhibition’s organizers said they expect some 3 million visitors within the first week of the exhibition.
Dagestan is Russia’s most multi-ethnic republic with a predominantly Muslim population of almost 3 million. It is home to some of the oldest Islamic monuments on Russia’s territory, including Russia’s oldest mosque in the southern city of Derbent that dates back to 733.
