As close neighbors of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran receive large contingents for the umrah, the minor haj or pilgrimage.

The pilgrims come in busloads to the Islamic holy city of Mecca. They move through the streets and, in groups of more than 50 people, walk around the Ka'bah, the cube-shaped shrine in the inner court of the Grand Mosque.

Smaller groups are from Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia. Flag pins or country nametags show their nationalities.

The Turks wear their red flag with its white crescent and star sewn onto shoulder bags or on the backs of their shirts. The Iranians wear their national colors of red, white and green on thick belts and in wide, medallion-like ribbons around their necks.

Pilgrims know they are approaching because they chant their prayers in a united shout.

Everyone has to make sure they stay out of the way of wheelchairs carrying pilgrims who cannot walk. Their hired pushers, husky young men, dart through any available opening to roll ahead and a careless pilgrim's toes may be run over.

During the tawaf, as the ritual of walking seven times around the Ka'bah is known, pilgrims quickly work up a sweat under the scorching midday sun.

Once the tawaf is completed, some head to the rows of cream-colored water dispensers. The barrel-like containers do not carry ordinary water. Rather, they hold zamzam water from the mosque's own well.

Legend has it that an angel's wings scraped the desert sand and water oozed out. The spot where that is believed to have happened lies within meters of the Ka'bah.

The evening prayer of Magrib and the night prayer of Isya draw the greatest congregations. Pilgrims fill the inner court and the mosque's three levels and spill out into the outer square. Perhaps more than 100,000 Muslims gather for these prayers. Many seek the open space of the third level, the roof deck, from where pilgrims get a sweeping overhead view of the Ka'bah and its surroundings.

With the floodlights on, the whole mosque lights up like a huge stadium for an evening event. Cameras are forbidden inside the mosque, but in this age of the cell phone, pilgrims fish them out and take snapshots with no need for flashbulbs.

Outside the mosque, every night is bazaar night. The many small shops that line the narrow streets leading to the mosque do a roaring trade. They sell shirts and jackets, Muslim Ihram cloth, prayer beads and a whole array of Chinese-made household goods from pen sets to compasses.

Money changer booths are numerous, as are fast food outlets - for 2 Saudi riyals (Rp 6,000) a pilgrim can eat pita bread, folded and filled with a coleslaw-like salad of cabbage and tomato in mayonnaise.

The same amount of money will get a portion of tamiya red bean nuggets. Hamburgers are upward of 5 riyals.

The more upscale shops in the mall, which extends to a five-star hotel opposite the front gate of the mosque, offer Swiss-made watches, high fashion tailoring and smartly packed prime Medina dates.

Families flock to eat in the restaurants that have picture windows overlooking the outer courtyard of the mosque.

With the Grand Mosque open around the clock, Mecca is a city that never sleeps with pilgrims that never stop praying.

- Warief Djajanto Basorie

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