A sea of white-robed two million pilgrims from all around the globe has arrived at the holy city of Mecca, chanting "Labbaik Allahhuma Labbaik" (O God, here I am answering your call), to perform the life-time spiritual pilgrimage.

"You've got to be patient. Insha Allah, everything will be fine, don't worry," a staff of the Ministry of Culture and Information, known only as Hamdan, told thousands of pilgrims at the hajj terminal in Jeddah airport, Bernama reported on Monday, October 7.

Hamdan was one of the Saudi officials who spread at the Hajj Terminal to assist visiting journalists to observe the annual hajj this month.

The Hajj Terminal, estimated to be at least five million square feet (465,000 square meters) is known for its tent-shaped fiberglass roof.

In a bid to make waiting easier for pilgrims, the terminal has a mosque, and it can accommodate 80,000 travelers at one time.

The customs and immigration halls are air-conditioned with lots of facilities for "Wudhu", drinking water and toilets.

Last June, Saudi Arabia announced its plan to restrict the number of pilgrims for this year's hajj over ongoing expansions at the holy sites in Mecca.

Saudi authorities said they will reduce the numbers of pilgrims coming from within the kingdom by half.

The numbers of overseas pilgrims will be reduced by 20 percent.

In the meantime, a temporary "mataf" bridge has been installed to increase the capacity for those wishing to perform the "tawaf" (circumambulation of the holy Ka'aba).

The mataf area will increase the tawaf capacity to 35,000 worshippers an hour.

Muslims from around the world pour into Mecca every year to perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime