Photographs have shown the sheer number of worshippers marking Ramadan this year as thousands of Muslims pray in the Grand Mosque.

The Mosque, located in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the destination for millions of Muslims taking part in religious pilgrimage every year.

Stunning photographs taken on Tuesday captured hundreds of thousands of people both inside the mosque taking part in evening prayers.

Pilgrimage, known as Hajj, is one of the five pillars of Islam, and Muslims are required to make the journey to Mecca for Hajj at least once during their lifetime, if they are physically able and can afford to do so.

And rain did not halt the worship at the open air Mosque, with visitors putting up umbrellas or simply embracing the rain.

The Grand Mosque is 356,000 square metres, or 88 acres, in size and has a capacity of 2.5 million people.

These incredible photographs show the Mosque could well have reached that capacity on Tuesday.

Mecca is the centre point of the Muslim religion as it is where the Prophet Muhammad was born and was said to have received the first revelations from Allah which went on to become the Koran.

All Muslims pray in the direction of the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba inside – a large, square, stone building which Muslims must circle in an anticlockwise direction seven times as part of their Hajj.

Observant Muslims pray five times per day, starting at sunrise and ending at sunset.

Ramadan began on March 22 this year and is expected to last until April 21.

During Ramadan Muslims take part in another of Islam’s five pillars – Sawm, otherwise known as fasting.

While fasting Muslims do not eat between sunrise and sunset, and eat together with friends and family after the sun goes down.

The end of Ramadan is marked by the Eid al-Fitr festival, during which Muslims dress in their finest clothes, exchange gifts and pray.

The date of Ramadan and other Muslim events move every year because the Islamic calendar operates on the lunar cycle rather than the Gregorian calendar.

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