The city of Jeddah is the major gateway to two of the holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. Consequently, millions of religious pilgrims travel into Jeddah each year.
Religious pilgrims are easily identifiable by their garb - unsewn white pieces of cloth wrapped around their lower and upper bodies. Many male pilgrims also shave their heads when they perform the rituals of the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims can make their way to Mecca by car, bus, or hi-speed rail.
They travel to Saudi Arabia from countries all over the world. Some have to save all their lives in order to perform Hajj, to complete this pillar of Islam. Hajj happens once every year at a specific time and the number of the highly valued visas issued by Saudi Arabia is limited.
When the pilgrimage is performed other times of the year besides Hajj, it is called Omra. Omra does not fulfill the Islamic requirement of performing Hajj.
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I've seen a documentary at some point about the yearly pilgrimage.
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