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Muslim worshipers from around the world have flocked to Mecca’s Grand Mosque to walk around the Kaaba in the first ritual of the Hajj which begins on Wednesday.
This year, about 1 million Muslims will be allowed to participate in the ritual, compared to 2.5 million who were allowed in 2019.
Every Muslim should theoretically make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime if they have the means to do so, while non-Muslims are not allowed to make it.
The gathering of believers in the city is a symbolic repetition of the Prophet Muhammad’s last pilgrimage.
For this, pilgrims must enter a state of physical and spiritual purity called Ihram, which requires special clothing and behavior.
Men should wear loose white clothing that symbolizes unity, regardless of social status, class or nation.
Pilgrims are not allowed to argue or fight, they are forbidden to wear perfume, cut their nails, hair or beards, writes the AFP network.
The ritual requires walking seven times around the Kaaba, which is the tall cubic structure at the center of the Mosque.
Wherever they are in the world, Muslims turn to the Kaaba when they pray, as it is believed to have been erected by Adam and then rebuilt by Ibrahim 4,000 years ago.
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