1. Hajj is not a holiday. You go for religious or spiritual reasons. Muslims on hajj want to feel closer to Allah. They want the pilgrimage to change them.
2. Ihram. On the plane Muslim men change into ihram, two pieces of white cloth, that they will wear on the pilgrimage. Inwardly ihram symbolises purity, once they are wearing it a Muslim should keep their thoughts and intentions clean.
3. Ihram also reminds Muslims that everyone is part of the ummah, the worldwide family of Islam and that they are all equal before Allah whatever background they are from.
4. The Ka'bah. Muslims face the ka'bah everyday when they pray so seeing it for the first time is very significant. Muslims believe that it was first built by Adam as a place of worship. It was then rebuilt by Ibrahim and finally Muhammad removed tribal idols from it a returned it to a place of worship.
5. Sa'y. When performing sa'y Muslims are remembering a story from the Qur'an that is an important part of their religious history. Ibrahim's wife ran between the two hills looking for water to give to her son Isma'il who was dying of thirst. An angel guided her to a spring, called the well of Zamzam. When pilgrims drink from the spring they identify with Ibrahim's wife and how Allah provided for her.
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