BISHKEK, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - A pensioner in Kyrgyzstan spent all the money he had saved for the Hajj pilgrimage to reconstruct a monument to those who died in World War II, Kyrgyz news website 24.kg reported on Wednesday.

According to local elders, Suleiman Turdubayev "had been saving money to go to the holy sites in Saud Arabia for a long time."

However, he decided to spend 100,000 Kyrgyz som (around $2,500) on the reconstruction of the World War II monument in his home village of Alga in the Kadamzhaisky district of Kyrgyzstan's Batken region.

"The names of all the villagers who died in the war are inscribed on the monument in the center of Alga. There are 260 of them," 24.kg reported.

Official figures show around 353,000 Kyrgyz fought in the war, with 150,000 receiving medals or decorations. Only 4,412 are still alive.

The Hajj is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world and the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be performed at least once by every able-bodied Muslim. It is a demonstration of the submission to Allah.

To make the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina from Kyrgyzstan costs about $3,000. The average monthly pension in the Central Asian country is $30.