Over 1.5 million pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia for Hajj

More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already amassed in and around Mecca for the Hajj, according to Report, which cites Associated Press.

Ahead of their trip, the pilgrims circled the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.

This year’s Hajj also saw Syrian pilgrims traveling to Mecca on direct flights from Damascus for the first time in more than a decade. The move was part of an ongoing thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and conflict-stricken Syria. Syrians in rebel-held areas used to cross the border into neighboring Türkiye in their exhausting trip to Mecca for Hajj.

The Hajj will be held on June 14-19.