Muslim pilgrims begin largest Hajj since Covid-19

Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Muslim pilgrims are converging on Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one of Islam's five pillars. (AP)

Pigeons surround pilgrims outside the the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Saudi Arabia is expected to receive one million Muslims to attend Hajj pilgrimage this year, which begins on July 7. (AP Photo)

A Saudi traffic policeman raises his umbrella at a check point in the Arafat tent camp, in Mecca, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (AP)

Muslim pilgrims film the Black Stone located on the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (AP)

Saudi workers embroider Islamic calligraphy using either pure silver threads or silver threads plated with gold during the final stages in the preparation of a drape, or Kiswa, that covers the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure at the heart of the Grand Mosque, at the Kiswa factory in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. (AP)

During Hajj, Pilgrims will spend five days carrying out a set of rituals including praying around the cube-shaped Kaaba, the holiest shrine in Islam. (AP)

A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. (AP)

A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

Indonesian pilgrims perform prayers before departing for hajj, at the Pondok Gede Hajj dormitory in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 24, 2022. (AP)