Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from across the globe on Friday began the annual pilgrimage to the Great Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj — with the faithful walking in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad — one of Islam’s most holy rites.

This year’s pilgrims included survivors and relatives of victims of the mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, who were invited to the hajj as guests of the Saudi king.

More than 1.8 million Muslims had arrived in the country by land, air and sea by Wednesday, according to Saudi officials, to take part in the five-day religious journey to sites in and around Mecca. Hundreds of thousands of Saudis were expected to take part.