In pictures: Hajj preparations

• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:27

  
  
  More than 1.1 million Muslims are expected in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which begins next week.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:28

  
  
  All able-bodied Muslims who have the means have a duty to perform the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:28

  
  
  Pilgrims wear special white clothes, called ihram, and observe prescribed rites derived from the life of Prophet Abraham.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:29

  
  
  Before the Hajj, many go to Jabal al-Nur, the Mountain of Light, at the top of which is the sacred Hira cave.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:30

  
  
  The prophet Muhammad is said to have received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel in the cave.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:30

  
  
  Mecca is revered as the holiest site of Islam, and the Masjid al-Haram, or Holy Mosque, is the focal point of the Hajj.
• poon cho tang

  6 Jan 06, 21:31

  
  
  Pilgrims pray at Mecca's Holy Mosque, and walk around the Kaaba seven times in an anti-clockwise direction to perform the Tawaf.