Pilgrims arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport in JEddah, prior to the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca. The Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. AFP

Hajj 2019: pilgrims arrive early in Saudi Arabia - in pictures



This year's Hajj season does not begin until early August, but the logistics of moving hundreds of thousands of pilgrims started at the weekend with specially chartered flights into Saudi Arabia.

The first pilgrims arrived from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Makkah becomes one of the most densely populated areas in the world during Hajj, with an estimated two million people moving in unison to perform the rituals.

Last year, about 1,535 flights carried pilgrims to Saudi airports, with more arriving over land and sea.

See the gallery above for the early arrivals for Hajj 2019. Below, The National explains Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.