Two million Muslims arrive at Mecca in Saudi Arabia

'We feel more religious when we leave this place,' she said.

For author Zeghidour, going on the hajj takes pilgrims to another level altogether.

'The pilgrim has to run, move, and perform several stages' of the ritual.

'It is so physically and mentally demanding that he doesn't have time to think about the crisis in the Gulf. For him this is literature.

'Many pilgrims come from Asia or Africa, far from the Middle East, and they come to a place where they can try to forget their lives back home.'

Murderous jihadist attacks across the world in recent years will be on the minds of many pilgrims, especially those from Iraq and Syria where the ISIS has suffered a series of setbacks.

But the threat from extremists has not put off pilgrims such as Fatima, from Perpignan in southern France.

'I've been waiting to go on this journey for a long time,' she said, wearing a red veil like the other people in her group.