Keen to kiss the Kaaba stone

Security officers help a young pilgrim weeping in horror after getting caught in the melee of worshippers thronging the around the Holy Kaaba to greet and kiss the Black Stone. The Black Stone, or Hajr Al-Aswad, is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba and is revered as a religious relic, which according to tradition fell from heaven and dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was chosen by consensus to set the stone in the wall of Kaaba when it was rebuilt in 605 AD, five years before he received the first revelation. — Courtesy photo