Pilgrims have been saying their farewells at Cairo airport before leaving for Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj.
Every year tens of thousands of Egyptians apply for visas to travel to Makkah to join more than a million Muslims from across the world at the pilgrimage.
“When I was chosen, I couldn’t believe it,” says Afaf Hasan Rifai, who was selected by Egypt’s authorities to perform the Haj to start early next month.
“I started crying and I prostrated to God,” she says, her beaming husband standing next to her outside the terminal late on Thursday.
Nearby a policeman pushes a wheelchair carrying an elderly women with a cane into the terminal.
Saudi authorities have announced new security measures for the Haj this year, including electronic bracelets and a reduced period for the stoning ritual.
Many Muslims still dream of going – even those who have already made repeated pilgrimages, such as 93-year-old Salem Ibrahim Rahmo. “I’m happy as can be,” said the white-turbaned Rahmo as he waits outside Cairo airport terminal.
“To visit the Prophet (mosque in Medina), this is the greatest happiness. And to visit the Kaaba. This is my third time,” he says.
His son, Rahmo Mohamed Ibrahim, believes “everyone” would seize the chance to perform the Haj if allowed.
“Every person wishes to visit the houses of God and to perform the pilgrimage and fulfil his obligation,” says Ibrahim, 53.