A crescent-shaped beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui got the top slot Thursday on the list of best beaches issued annually by a Florida professor known as Dr. Beach.
This undated photo provided by the Hawaii Tourism Authority shows a view of the Kapalua coastline in Maui, Hawaii. Kapalua Bay Beach is No. 1 on the list of best beaches for the summer of 2018 compiled by Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University. (Tor Johnson/Hawaii Tourism Authority via AP)
Kapalua Bay Beach topped the list released by Stephen Leatherman, a coastal science professor at Florida International University in Miami.
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A crescent-shaped beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui got the top slot Thursday on the list of best beaches issued annually by a Florida professor known as Dr. Beach.
Kapalua Bay Beach topped the list released by Stephen Leatherman, a coastal science professor at Florida International University in Miami.
Leatherman told The Associated Press that Kapalua is one of his "favorite beaches. It's just an idyllic place to visit. What's interesting is a lot of beaches are beautiful but can be dangerous because of big waves. This beach has two arms of (hardened) lava flows, ancient lava flows, which protect it. So it's a really calm waterway. You don't go there for surfing. You go there for swimming. The water is warm year-round."
Leatherman has been compiling his annual list of top 10 beaches every year since 1991. He uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, safety (meaning no rip currents or drownings) and management of the beach environment and its facilities. He also looks for fine, soft sand, and gives extra points for beaches that prohibit smoking. He doesn't collect water from every beach in test tubes himself, by the way, but he does use data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality.
His goal in producing the list each year, he says, "is to reward those beaches which maintain the high quality and the safety areas but also to encourage other beaches to do the same." He looks for beaches that "balance nature with the built environment."
And don't worry about that lava-spewing volcano impacting visits to the Kapalua beach. The Kilauea volcano is on a different Hawaiian island, the Big Island.
Leatherman's list even has a second Hawaiian beach on the same island as the volcano, Hapuna Beach State Park, coming in eighth on the list. But Hapuna is on the opposite side of the Big Island.
The other beaches on the top 10 list are Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks, coming in second, followed by Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida panhandle; Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Lighthouse Beach, Buxton, Outer Banks, North Carolina; Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin-Clearwater, Florida; then Hapuna on the Big Island, with Coronado Beach, San Diego, California, in ninth place and Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, coming in 10th.
ABOUT THAT NO. 1 BEACH...
This undated photo provided by Kirk Lee Aeder shows Hapuna Beach in Hawaii. The beach is No. 8 on the list of best beaches for the summer of 2018 compiled by Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University.(Kirk Lee Aeder/www.kirkaederphoto.com via AP)
Leatherman told The Associated Press that Kapalua is one of his "favorite beaches. It's just an idyllic place to visit. What's interesting is a lot of beaches are beautiful but can be dangerous because of big waves. This beach has two arms of (hardened) lava flows, ancient lava flows, which protect it. So it's a really calm waterway. You don't go there for surfing. You go there for swimming. The water is warm year-round."
Kapalua is also lined with palm trees, has white coral sand and colorful tropical fish, and is perfect for snorkeling. Leatherman says it's easy to reach from the main road by driving through a golf course, but parking is limited.
One small caveat on whether visitors to other parts of Hawaii will notice any ill effects from the volcano: Depending on wind conditions, other areas of the Big Island and the other Hawaiian islands could experience volcanic smog, known as vog. Right now winds are blowing most of it offshore. Vog is not a new issue, by the way: The entire state has experienced vog on and off since 2008.
CRITERIA FOR THE LIST
This undated photo provided by Visit Florida shows Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin, Florida. The beach is No. 7 on the list of best beaches for the summer of 2018 compiled by Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University. (St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area CVB via AP)
Leatherman has been compiling his annual list of top 10 beaches every year since 1991. He uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, safety (meaning no rip currents or drownings) and management of the beach environment and its facilities. He also looks for fine, soft sand, and gives extra points for beaches that prohibit smoking. He doesn't collect water from every beach in test tubes himself, by the way, but he does use data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality.
Leatherman's list has its origins in a class he taught at the University of Maryland. A student was writing an article for a travel magazine and asked him to come up with a list of the 10 best beaches based on his expertise as a coastal scientist. He began producing his official annual list in 1991 using his 50 criteria and his vast knowledge of U.S. ocean beaches. "I had visited every (ocean) beach in the U.S. for a Department of Interior study ... so that gave me the background data set to work from," he said.
FILE - This May 13, 2010, file photo, shows Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y. Coopers Beach is No. 4 on the list of best beaches for the summer of 2018 compiled by Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
His goal in producing the list each year, he says, "is to reward those beaches which maintain the high quality and the safety areas but also to encourage other beaches to do the same." He looks for beaches that "balance nature with the built environment."
But how come so many states with beloved beaches — in places like Maine, the DelMarva Peninsula, the Jersey shore, the Pacific Northwest and other coastal areas — never make the list, while the same names keep turning up year after year?
This undated photo provided by VisitNC.com shows a boy on the beach at Ocracoke on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach is No. 2 on the list of best beaches for the summer of 2018 compiled by Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, a professor at Florida International University. (Bill Russ/NC Department of Commerce via AP)
Leatherman says it's all about the math in his categories. Beaches lose points for water that's too chilly, sand that's too coarse, condo towers instead of dunes, riptides and drownings, erosion and limited public access.
Leatherman adds that he doesn't make money from the list. He just finds "it interesting to do" and hopes that the standards he promotes will encourage other beaches "to do the right thing and improve their quality."
MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia under the soaring summer heat. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world.
The stoning is among the final rites of the Hajj, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It came a day after more than 1.8 million pilgrims congregated at a sacred hill, known as Mount Arafat, outside the holy city of Mecca, which Muslim pilgrims visit to perform the annual five-day rituals of Hajj.
Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims have died from sunstroke during the Hajj, according to Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it has coordinated with Saudi authorities to bury the dead in Saudi Arabia, or transfer them to Jordan.
Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, spokesman for the Saudi Health Ministry, told reporters that more than 2,760 pilgrims suffered from sunstroke and heat stress on Sunday alone. He said the number was likely to increase and urged attendees to avoid the sun at peak times and drink water. “Heat stress is the greatest challenge," he said.
The pilgrims left Mount Arafat on Saturday evening to spend their night in a nearby site known as Muzdalifa, where they collected pebbles to use in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil.
The pillars are in another sacred place in Mecca, called Mina, where Muslims believe Ibrahim’s faith was tested when God commanded him to sacrifice his only son Ismail. Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but then God stayed his hand, sparing his son. In the Christian and Jewish versions of the story, Abraham is ordered to kill his other son, Isaac.
On Sunday morning, crowds headed on foot to the stoning areas. Some were seen pushing disabled pilgrims on wheelchairs on a multi-lane road leading to the complex housing the large pillars. Most pilgrims were seen sweltering and carrying umbrellas to protect them against the burning summer sun.
An Associated Press reporter saw many pilgrims, especially among the elderly, collapsing on the road to the pillars because of the burning heat. Security forces and medics were deployed to help, carrying those who fainted on gurneys out of the heat to ambulances or field hospitals. As the temperature spiked by midday, more people required medical help. The heat had reached to 47 C (116.6 F) in Mecca, and 46 C (114.8 F) in Mina, according to Saudi meteorological authorities.
Despite the suffocating heat, many pilgrims expressed joy at being able to complete their pilgrimage.
“Thank God, (the process) was joyful and good,” said Abdel-Moaty Abu Ghoneima, an Egyptian pilgrim. “No one wants more than this.”
Many pilgrims will spend up to three days in Mina, each casting seven pebbles at three pillars in a ritual to symbolize the casting away of evil and sin.
While in Mina, they will visit Mecca to perform their “tawaf,” or circumambulation, which is circling the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque counterclockwise seven times. Then another circumambulation, the Farewell Tawaf, will mark the end of Hajj as pilgrims prepare to leave the holy city.
The rites coincide with the four-day Eid al-Adha, which means “Feast of Sacrifice,” when Muslims with financial means commemorate Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor.
Most countries marked Eid al-Adha on Sunday. Others, like Indonesia, will celebrate it Monday.
President Joe Biden in a statement wished Muslims around the world a blessed Eid al-Adha and noted the holiday is a time of prayer, reflection and sacrifice.
“The Hajj and Eid al-Adha remind us of our equality before God and the importance of community and charity — values that speak directly to the American character," it said. "The United States is blessed to be home to millions of American Muslims who enrich our nation in countless ways, from medicine to technology, education, public service, the arts, and beyond.”
Once the Hajj is over, men are expected to shave their heads and remove the shroud-like white garments worn during the pilgrimage, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal and rebirth.
Most of the pilgrims then leave Mecca for the city of Medina, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) away, to pray in Prophet Muhammad’s tomb, the Sacred Chamber. The tomb is part of the prophet’s mosque, one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
All Muslims are required to make the Hajj once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so. Many wealthy Muslims make the pilgrimage more than once. The rituals largely commemorate the accounts of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail, Ismail’s mother Hajar and Prophet Muhammad, according to the Quran, Islam’s holy book.
More than 1.83 million Muslims performed Hajj in 2024, Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq bin Fawzan al-Rabiah said in a briefing, slightly less than last year’s figures when 1.84 million made the rituals.
Most of the Hajj rituals are held outdoors with little if any shade. It is set for the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar, so its time of the year varies. And this year the pilgrimage fell in the burning summer of Saudi Arabia.
This year’s Hajj came against the backdrop of the devastating Israel-Hamas war, which has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional conflict.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip weren’t able to travel to Mecca for Hajj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May when Israel extended its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt. And they will not be able to celebrate the Eid al-Adha as they used to do in previous years.
Dozens of Palestinians gathered Sunday morning near a destroyed mosque in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis to perform the Eid prayers. They were surrounded by debris and rubble of collapsed houses. In the nearby town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Muslims held their prayers in a school-turned shelter. Some, including women and children, went to cemeteries to visit the graves of loved ones.
“Today, after the ninth month, more than 37,000 martyrs, more than 87,000 wounded, and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed,” Abdulhalim Abu Samra, a displaced Palestinian, told the AP after wrapping up the prayers in Khan Younis. "Our people live in difficult circumstances.”
Also in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians convened for the Eid prayers in Ramallah, the seat of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. “We suffer greatly and live through difficult moments with (what's happening to) our brothers in Gaza,” said Mahmoud Mohana, a mosque imam.
In Yemen's Houthi-held capital of Sanaa and in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, Muslims celebrated and prayed for the war-weary Palestinians in Gaza.
“We are happy because of Eid but our hearts are filled with anguish when we see our brothers in Palestine," said Bashar al-Mashhadani, imam of al-Gilani Mosque in Baghdad. "(We) urge the Arabic and Islamic countries to support and stand beside them in this ordeal.”
In Lebanon, where the militant Hezbollah group has traded near-daily attacks with Israel, a steady stream of visitors made their way into the Palestine Martyrs Cemetery near the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut early Sunday morning, bearing flowers and jugs of water for the graves of their loved ones, an annual tradition on the first day of Eid.
Associated Press writers Wafaa Shurafa in the Gaza Strip and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show the name of the hill is Mount Arafat.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Muslim pilgrims arrive to cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A pilgrim prepares to cast stones at a pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Paramedics carry a muslim pilgrim for a medical check after he fell down due to a heat stroke at pillars, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Paramedics carry a muslim pilgrim for a medical check after he fell down due to a heat stroke at pillars, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Two muslim pilgrim women share umbrella to protect themself from sun near pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil, the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Masses of pilgrims on Sunday embarked on a symbolic stoning of the devil in Saudi Arabia. The ritual marks the final days of the Hajj, or Islamic pilgrimage, and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims walk a street littered with thrashed water bottle in Arafat, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims gather at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Masses of Muslims gathered at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for worship and reflection on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims try to reach for free drinking water being distributed in Arafat, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Masses of Muslims gathered at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for worship and reflection on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims try to reach for free distributing drinking water in Arafat, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Masses of Muslims gathered at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for worship and reflection on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims pray at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. The ritual is considered the peak of the Hajj. It's often the most memorable event for pilgrims, who stand shoulder to shoulder, asking God for mercy, blessings, prosperity and good health, during one of the largest religious gatherings on Earth. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims rest in Muzdalifah, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims rest in Muzdalifah, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Muslim pilgrims gather at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
