Pilgrimages are a big business

Hajj begins today. Over 1.5 million Muslims have already traveled to Saudi Arabia this week to attend Hajj, one of the world’s largest human gatherings. As a pillar of Islam, Muslims who are physically and financially capable must make the trek to Mecca at least once during their lives. While there, they participate in several rituals, including walking around the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque and gathering in the hills near Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad gave his last sermon some 1,400 years ago.