Over the coming days, they will immerse themselves in religious rituals and acts of worship that originated more than 1,400 years ago.

Millions of Muslims from all over the world have converged on Mecca in Saudi Arabia to partake in Islam's annual Hajj pilgrimage.

More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims are in Saudi Arabia for this year's Hajj, a government spokesperson said Wednesday. Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a religious obligation involving rituals and acts of worship that every Muslim must fulfil if they have the money and are physically able to do it.