Nearly 3 million pilgrims headed to Mount Arafat, just outside the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, on the second day of the Hajj, the pilgrimage undertaken by many Muslims.

The pilgrims had left Mecca after completing the first ritual of the Hajj, circling the sacred Kaaba stone structure seven times inside the Grand Mosque, which Muslims all over the world face during their five daily prayers.

The heavy cloth covering the Kaaba is made of fine silk and engraved with Koran verses embroidered in gold-plated threads.

Then, millions of pilgrims, dressed in white robes, got into vehicles and headed Mount Arafat to pray.

The mount is a small hill about 12 miles east of Mecca, where Islam's Prophet Mohammed is said to have given his last sermon 14 centuries ago.

At Arafat, pilgrims offer prayers in a ritual that's interpreted as a foretaste of the Day of Judgement, when Islam says every person will stand before God and answer for his deeds.