Pilgrims begin arriving for the Hajj in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca.<br/> The Hajj pilgrimage is essentially a series of rites performed in or near Mecca - the most sacred of Islam's three holy cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.<br/> As the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, all financially and physically-able believers must make this pilgrimage at least once in their life.<br/> While in Mecca, Muslim pilgrims circumambulate - or walk around - the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred site, seven times in a counterclockwise direction.<br/> The Hajj must be made between the eighth and 13th days of the 12th month of the Muslim lunar year.<br/> The number of pilgrims in Mecca is expected to peak during the first or second week of November.<br/> Travis Brecher, Reuters
