MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Billboards line the Umm Al Qura highway leading to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, displaying manicured public spaces, glass-fronted stores and sleek towers. It’s part of a $26 ...

Saudi Arabian authorities have stopped over 269,000 individuals without the necessary permits from entering Mecca ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, officials announced on Sunday. The Saudi ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia — One million Muslim pilgrims were converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Wednesday for the largest hajj since the COVID-19 pandemic severely curtailed access to one of ...

In this Aug. 13, 2019 file photo taken with slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba during the hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. AP Photo/Amr Nabil, ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia — One million Muslim pilgrims were converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Wednesday for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A very small, ...

(RNS) — For two years as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, Sumaira Malik and her husband, Nauman Chaudary, left their deposit with Dar El Salam Travel for their planned hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, ...

The Islamic kingdom is quietly loosening its laws against alcohol as part of a push to modernize and attract tourists.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia >> Billboards line the Umm Al Qura highway leading to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, displaying manicured public spaces, glass-fronted stores and sleek towers. It’s part of a $26 ...