Traveling to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual Muslim pilgrimage was like "a piece of paradise," for Carlsbad resident Ieman Hassan.

Hassan made the journey, called the hajj, with her family at this time last year. "I get goosebumps just thinking about the day at (Mount) Arafat -- it gives you so much joy and peace," she said.

Millions of devoted Muslims from all over the world travel to Mecca at this time of year to take part in several religious ceremonies, each meant to symbolize the trials of the prophet Ibrahim and his willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, for God.

For 10 days, pilgrims assemble to perform the sacred rituals of Hajj with the last day known as the festival of Eid ul-Adha, one of the two largest Muslim holidays. Hajj and the Eid are celebrated during the first 10 days of the month of Hajj, the 12th and last month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Making the hajj is one of the five pillars or precepts of Islam, and for the crowds streaming in from all continents, it is a deep and palpable expression of their religious faith. It is also a duty that all able-bodied Muslims must carry out at least once in their lifetime.

Entrance to Mecca is forbidden to non-Muslims, and Saudi Arabia issues special visas to foreigners for the pilgrimage. And while the government does provide permits to unaccompanied women if they travel with other women, they are encouraged to go in the company of a male relative.

A special trip

Last year, Hassan and her husband, Mohammad El-Kalay, traveled with a special tour group found on the Internet. They stayed three days and three nights in a tent city in nearby Mina in Saudi Arabia before making their way to Mecca.

"There were showers, toilets, running water … and three catered meals a day," explained Hassan of the living conditions. "The tents sleep 25. There are blankets, pillows, everything to make you comfortable. Many of the tents even have air-conditioning."

Hassan and her daughter Mariam, 25, stayed in one tent with other women while her husband and son, Youssuf, 27, stayed in another. One of the women they shared the tent with was also named Mariam and from Palestine.

"They couldn't really understand each other," Hassan said of her daughter and the woman. "But they became good friends … You stay in a tent with people you've never met before. Everyone is very kind and nice, because you are not allowed to quarrel or it can nullify your pilgrimage."

The first series of ritual acts throughout the pilgrimage includes walking around the Kaaba, the black cubic stone in Mecca that Muslims face every day when they perform their prayers. Pilgrims also walk seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marway (the walk is also known as the sa'ay).

Some pilgrims, like the El-Kalay family, then travel to the city of Medina to see the Mosque of the Prophet, which houses Mohammad's tomb. After spending an night or more in Medina, the pilgrims return to Mecca.

Where Adam and Eve met

On the eighth day, all the pilgrims leave Mecca for the nearby town of Mina. The next morning, they leave Mina for Mount Arafat, where they must spend the afternoon within a defined area on the plain of Arafat until after sunset.

"This is where Adam and Eve met -- one came from the east and the other from the west," explained El-Kalay. "On the day of Arafat, you must be there until sunset. Four million people gather as they tell us in a beautiful narration of the dialogue between God and the people. They tell God, 'We are here to worship you and desire your mercy and forgiveness,' and God says he will give them what they want, and they are washed and born again. People are in tears as they get that last request in before all of humanity is forgiven."

After sunset, the pilgrims leave for Muzdalifah for the stoning of the jamarat (bridge) in the area between Arafat and Mina. The following morning at sunrise, pilgrims are required to collect 70 pebbles and throw them at the bridge. One of the most interesting rituals of Hajj, the stoning is also the most dangerous, with nearly 350 pilgrims dying in a crush during the ritual and hundreds injured last year.

While in Mecca for the pilgrimage, the men dress only in an ihram, a white garment consisting of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth. One piece of cloth is draped over the torso and the bottom is wrapped around the waist like a sarong. The ihram symbolizes equality, purity and absolution of sins. Women traditionally wear a simple white or black dress with a head covering.

"You wrap the bottom around like a kilt," said El-Kalay, who was born in Cairo but spent much of his life in Scotland. "Everyone looks the same because we are equal in the eyes of God, whoever you are. No one is better than anyone else. You are not judged on what you have. We are all human beings -- people from all over the world -- asking for forgiveness."

Seeing all the men in white, said the couple, reminded them of how the hajj was a turning point in the life of the American black Muslim leader, Malcolm X.

El-Kalay quoted a portion of a letter Malcolm X wrote: "I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass and slept in the same bed while praying to the same God with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of the blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white … we are truly all the same, brothers."

The Eid ul-Adha

The culmination of the hajj each year is Eid ul-Adha, which was marked in the San Diego area on Wednesday with a litany and prayer at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center on Thursday morning.

For those who did not travel on the pilgrimage, it was a festive time marked by special prayers, visits to family and friends, gifts to children and food. Indeed, for some families, it may be one of the few times during the year some Muslims eat meat, as during the holiday many Muslims still sacrifice a domestic animal in order to distribute the meat among family, friends and the poor.

The ritual is performed because according to the Quran, Islam's holy book, God appeared to the prophet Ibrahim (the same Abraham that Jews and Christians recognize) and told him to sacrifice his son. Even as the devil tried to persuade Ibrahim to disobey God's order, he was not swayed and was prepared to kill his son. But just as the father was cutting his son's throat, God stopped him, giving him a sheep to sacrifice instead.

More important than the celebration and feasting for the El-Kalay family, the holiday is a chance to reflect, pray and recall their profoundly moving pilgrimage last year at this time.

"There is an indescribable tranquility, a complete peace that lasts for weeks," said El-Kalay, adding he would happily make the pilgrimage to Mecca every year if he had the money and the strength. "It is priceless."

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.