Muslim worshippers circumambulate around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on August 17, 2018 prior to the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city. - Muslims from across the world are gathering in Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam. [Photo:AFP]
Hisham Mostafa briefly forgot the war in Syria and his financial worries as he looked upon Islam’s holiest sites for the first time, standing among hundreds of thousands of white-clad Muslims gathered in Mecca ahead of the haj pilgrimage.