Mecca - More than two million pilgrims from around the world crowded the streets of the Muslim city of Mecca yesterday in preparation for today's start of the haj, one of Islam's holiest rituals.
Men in seamless white garments and women in long robes with their heads covered milled about, shopping for dates and worry beads or slowly making their way to the Grand Mosque for noon prayers.
Pilgrims circled the Kaaba, a black-draped structure in the centre of the mosque, while others sat on the floor reading the Koran.