Pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week.
The General Directorate of Passports announced the arrival of 1,547,295 pilgrims for the Hajj season. This figure encompasses all pilgrims entering the Kingdom through air, land, and sea ports until Monday.
More are expected, and Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday.
Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj.
On Tuesday, pilgrims thronged the Grand Mosque in Makkah, performing a ritual circuit walking seven times around the Kaaba..
At night, the vast marble court around the Kaaba was packed with the faithful.
Pilgrims do the circumambulation, known as “Tawaf” in Arabic, upon arriving in Makkah. The large crowds circling the Kaaba will last into the Hajj’s first day.
On Friday, pilgrims will move to the Mountain of Arafat for a daylong vigil, then to Muzdalifah, a rocky plain area. In Muzdalifa, pilgrims collect pebbles to be used in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil back in Mina.
