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MECCA, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Millions of Muslim pilgrims have journeyed to Mecca for the annual five-day Hajj and some privately funded groups are finding better accommodations than others.
During the Hajj, Muslims travel to the holy city in Saudi Arabia for five days of prayer.
Travels sponsored by private tour groups to the site usually provide better food than those sponsored by governments, al-Jazeera reported Friday. The majority of the pilgrims stay in tents, constructed by the Saudi Arabian government and divided by country. The tents provided by tour groups are usually larger and more comfortable.
"It was so crowded some people just slept outside," Mohammed Awadallah, an Iraqi pilgrim, told al-Jazeera of his government-sponsored tent.
Due to the tremendous volume of pilgrims, Saudi Arabia allows only 1,000 pilgrims per million of population to make the journey. Many countries have lotteries to determine who may travel, al-Jazeera reported.
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