Mina Camp

This guide to Mina Camp in the valley near Mecca traces how a patch of desert becomes, for five days each Hajj, the most densely inhabited place on earth before emptying out again. It follows the ancient story behind the gathering: Ibrahim's walk through this same valley, tested three times and defiant three times, a moment pilgrims still reenact nearby. More than three million visitors are housed across colour-coded, numbered tents so no one gets lost after dark.