Mecca's crowded streets provided Saudi merchant Dhikra Faqihi with much-needed relief as pilgrims returned to the annual haj after two years of pandemic-related disruption, with many rushing to buy her prayer beads and rugs.
Wads of cash exchanged hands under the LED lighting of her shop in the buzzing Ibrahim al-Khaleel street where thousands of pilgrims from across the globe enjoyed strolling in the cooler evening weather.
