The annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca

2 November: Afghans prepare to leave for the hajj, in Herat, Afghanistan. It is expected that some 30,000 Afghan pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia this year for Umrah with more than 100 buildings being reserved for Afghan pilgrims this year Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images 2 November: Saudi Arabian men ride on the newly-opened holy sites metro light rail in Mecca. The Chinese-built monorail project, will link Mecca with the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, and will operate for the first time during the hajj this month Photograph: Amer Hilabi/AFP/Getty Images 2 November: Afghans prepare to leave for the hajj Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images 3 November: A bus carries Muslim pilgrims on their way to the hajj across the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in Rafah Photograph: Eyad Baba/AP 3 November: Pilgrims from Sudan and Egypt arrive by ship at the Red Sea port city of Jeddah Photograph: Amer Hilabi/AFP/Getty Images 7 November: Saudi workers clean returned empty carboys of "zamzam" water at the Zamazemah United office in Mecca. According to Islamic belief, zamzam is a miraculously-generated source of water from God, which began thousands of years ago when Abraham's infant son Ishmael was thirsty and crying for water when he discovered a well by kicking the ground Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 8 November: A Saudi worker sews Islamic calligraphy in gold thread on a drape to cover the Kaaba at the kiswa factory in the holy city of Mecca. The Kaaba cover is called the kiswa and is changed every year at the culmination of the hajj Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: A Muslim pilgrim reads the Qur'an at the Kaaba, in the Grand Mosque of Mecca Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Muslim pilgrims perform the tawaf - the walk around the Kaaba seven times - at the Grand Mosque in Mecca Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Muslim pligrims walk between Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque in Mecca Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Elderly and disabled Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba their wheelchairs as they perform the tawaf Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Muslim pligrims walk between Marwa and Safa hills at the Grand Mosque Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Muslim pilgrims sleep at the Grand Mosque Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: Muslim pilgrims reach to touch the Kaaba as they perform the tawaf Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 9 November: A young boy looks on as pilgrims perform the tawaf Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 10 November: Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba, the black cube seen at centre, inside the Grand Mosque Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP 12 November: Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP 12 November: Pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP 12 November: Friday prayers in front of the Grand Mosque in Mecca Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 12 November: Friday prayers in front of the Grand Mosque in Mecca Photograph: Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images 12 November: Muslim pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP