According to the country's statistics, over 1.7 million foreigners, including 26,000 Russians, and 700,000 Saudis performed the hajj this year. Saudi Arabian nationals are allowed to participate in the world's largest annual religious gathering once every five years. The quota was introduced to allow more foreigners to visit the country.
In the past 60 years the number of pilgrims has grown 25-fold.
On Thursday pilgrims and Muslims from all around the world are celebrating the second day of Eid ul-Adha, Festival of Sacrifice, or Kurban Bajram, as it is called by Russian and Central Asian Muslims.
The Festival of Sacrifice is a four-day holiday in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's readiness to sacrifice his first born son Ishmael on Allah's orders.
Nowadays, the holiday celebrates commitment, obedience and self-sacrifice in the name of Allah. All Islamic followers who can afford it should kill an animal as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice, and its meat is then equally distributed among family, friends and the poor.
Following the killing of the animal, male pilgrims should shave their heads, or halq, considered a fundamental part of the hajj.
