The annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, has begun. More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country. The faithful have been pouring into the country for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related regional tensions and uncertainty. Typically on the first day, which fell on Monday this year, many pilgrims in Mecca converge on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert. Ahead of that, pilgrims have been circling the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in sweltering temperatures.