June 26 (UPI) – More than 2 million Muslims perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the highest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year some 900,000 more people participated.
Muslims from around the world began arriving at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Sunday to perform the Tawa al-Qudum arrival ritual. On Monday, they began the eight-kilometer adventure to Mina, the first rite of the Hajj.
This year’s Hajj is vital in the pursuit of improved diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Yemeni Muslims were able to reach Mecca via an advertising flight for the first time since 2016.
The flights became imaginable through a UN-brokered truce that ensured 15 months of de-escalation in Yemen.
Yemen is one of more than a hundred places that Muslims have traveled to reach Mecca.
To be eligible, you must be over the age of 12 and have completed mandatory flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. The age limit is 65, but others over 65 were allowed to participate.