A look at how Islam’s holiest site has changed since the 1950s, as close to 1.4 million pilgrims arrive in Mecca for the annual Haj pilgrimage that begins on Thursday. All photos by Associated Press.
Updated: October 01, 2014, 12:00 AM
In pictures: Mecca through the years
At the heart the Masjid Al Haram - Mecca’s Grand Mosque - is the Kaaba. File picture from September 24, 1951.
Muslims around the world turn toward the cube-shaped Kaaba for daily prayers. File photo taken in September 1954.
An aerial view of the Grand Mosque in 1988.
Pictures of Mecca’s Grand Mosque from a helicopter taken on December 31, 2006. Dozens of cranes and metal scaffolding surround the historic city as Saudi Arabia aims to increase hotel space and improve facilities to make the annual Haj pilgrimage safer and easier.
The 601-metre Abraj Al Bait Clock Tower, the tallest in the world, overlooks the Grand Mosque in this picture taken on October 16, 2013.