MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Savoring what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime journey, Muslim pilgrims were lingering at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site, congratulating each other on completing a sacred duty.
Late into the night Monday, pilgrims circled the Kaaba -- a large stone cube fondly referred to as God's Old House -- on three levels inside the Grand Mosque."Thank God, I completed the pilgrimage," Abdullah al-Shamari, a 65-year-old Kuwaiti, said with a broad smile. "I hope I live long enough to come back here again."
Al-Shamari, his head shaved in a tradition among pilgrims dating back to the prophet Mohammed's pilgrimage 1,400 years ago, exchanged congratulations with friends and relatives as they left the Grand Mosque.
The celebratory mood carried throughout Mecca as the hajj season wound to a close, with residents and pilgrims alike socializing in the streets. Stores stayed open late, allowing pilgrims to pick up some last souvenirs of this year's hajj, or annual pilgrimage. Many will remain in Saudi Arabia a few extra days to visit Medina, where Mohammed spent many years.
Performing the hajj is required once of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it. This year, 1.7 million Muslims from around the world made the journey, which began Friday.
In 1998, 2.3 million pilgrims participated in the hajj, and the drop this year was attributed to economic turmoil in Southeast Asia and low oil prices affecting Middle Eastern nations.
Earlier Monday, those who hadn't already headed home were in Mina, six miles to the north, carrying out a ritualistic stoning of the devil. Saudi security forces kept close control over the crowds to prevent a stampede like the one that left 180 people dead at the end of last year's hajj.