More than one and a half million Muslim pilgrims from around the world have arrived in Mecca to participate in the annual Hajj, the Associated Press reports.
Saudi authorities estimate that more than two million people could take part in the hajj this year.
For the first time in the last ten years, pilgrims from Syria arrived on direct flights. There are few pilgrims from the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip this turn (in total, up to 5 thousand).
The Hajj will take place from June 14 to 19. The kingdom’s weather service warned of a peak heat wave that would occur during the Hajj; air temperatures could reach 48 degrees, with a humidity of 25% and zero chance of precipitation.