Pilgrims climb a mountain near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to visit the Hire Cave during their Hajj.

Footage from July 4 shows pilgrims making the journey up the Jabal al-Nour to reach the cave where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have meditated.

A couple of people were seen sleeping a top of the 2,106-foot-tall mountain.

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: Mecca - 04 July 2022. Muslim pilgrims climb the Jabal al-Nour (al-Noor mountain) to visit Hira Cave, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

0.1 SOUNDBITE (in Arabic) Indonesian pilgrim

STORYLINE:

Annual Saudi Arabia welcomed its first batch of hajj pilgrims since before the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted authorities to sharply restrict the annual ritual.

The Hajj, largest annual pilgrimage in the world, 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.

Footage by /APA