Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims started leaving Makkah in Monday, after peacefully concluding the rituals of the soul-searching journey of hajj.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the specially selected group of around 1,000 pilgrims took part in a very different hajj from previous years which witnessed around 2.5 million pilgrims.
The following photos show the huge difference between hajj in 2020 and that in 2019.
Every year, Makkah sees millions of Muslims from around the world pouring in to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.
This year, Hajj was like no other due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Saudi government to cut the number of pilgrims to only 1000 to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Hajj’s ceremonies symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.