kaaba from above

Seen here is the Kaaba, the most sacred site for Muslims located in the holy city of Mecca. From wikipedia: "Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer". Muslims all over the world face the qiblah (the direction towards the kaaba in Mecca) during prayer which they do five times a day. Every year during the Hajj pilgrimage, millions of Muslims gather in this holy site and walk in a counter clockwise direction around the Kaaba while they say their prayers. This practice is also done during the Umrah (a shorter pilgrimage) but it is not as dramatic as during the Hajj. Performing the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. A muslim must perform the Hajj at least once in his lifetime. This is a very expensive trip so it's no wonder that most of the pilgrims are old people. I have met Hajjis from different parts of the world: Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Sweden, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, France. So many times I have been on an Umrah or Hajj flight (it's the kind of flights that the company usually gets) yet after so many times, I still get goosebumps when the Hajjis start to chant “Labbayka Allaahumma labbayk, labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayk. Inna al-hamd wa’l-ni’mata laka wa’l-mulk, laa shareeka lak (Here I am, O Allaah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner). You can feel the intensity of their emotions, some even cry out of happiness for having at last come all the way from where they come from to fulfill a religious rite that will cleanse them somehow from all sin.