Over 1.5 million Muslim faithful began filling a vast tent city in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the annual hajj pilgrimage against the backdrop of hopes for an end to the Iran war.
The white-robed pilgrims arrived at the sprawling encampment in Mina after performing the "tawaf" — walking seven times around the Kaaba, the giant black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque.
