Pilgrims Descent on Mecca ahead of Hajj

Hisham Mostafa briefly forgot the war in Syria and his financial worries as he looked upon Islam’s holiest sites for the first time, standing among hundreds of thousands of white-clad Muslims gathered in Mecca ahead of the hajj pilgrimage.

“This is the first time I see the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba. It is the best feeling of my life to be able to perform the hajj,” said Mostafa, 50, as he looked at the cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims turn in prayer five times a day. The accountant travelled to Saudi Arabia from Turkey where he has lived for five years since fleeing Aleppo in Syria. “War destroys everything ... Life in Turkey is hard and I barely earn enough.” But he was able to join about 2 million Muslims, including 1.68 million from abroad, flooding Mecca’s narrow streets for the annual rite which starts on Sunday. Nayef Ahmed, 37, told Reuters that in order to afford the hajj he had to sell a plot of land in Yemen, which is embroiled in a three-year proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. “Because of the war the prices are very high. But being here I feel comfort and peace and I pray to God for the war to end.”

Saudi interior ministry has put in place measures to confront any security threat from militant attacks to political protests, but no specific threats have been detected, a spokesman said.