More than 1.5 million pilgrims joined Islam's most important rite under a beating sun on Wednesday, as the hajj kicked off with the Saudi hosts scrambling to avoid last year's 1,000-plus deaths in sweltering heat.

With temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), robed pilgrims slowly circled the Kaaba, the black cube at the heart of Mecca's Grand Mosque which is Islam's holiest site.

Others arrived en masse in the sprawling tent city of Mina on Mecca's outskirts, where they will stay overnight before the hajj's high-point Thursday -- prayers on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final sermon.

"You feel like you're not in this world," Khitam, a 63-year-old pilgrim, told AFP by phone, saying that "before hajj, I used to watch the Grand Mosque on TV all day."

Before entering Mecca, pilgrims must first enter a state of purity, called ihram, which requires special dress and behaviour.

Men don a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasises unity among believers, regardless of their social........

© Al Monitor