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THE HAJambience: Call to prayer, MeccaAt least once in their lives, all Muslims who are physically and finanacially able are enjoined to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. That pilgrimage is called the Haj, and it's taking place this week in Saudia Arabia. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.This year, nearly two million worshippers will journey to Mecca for the Haj, which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God. Men wear two white unsewn sheets, women, a simple robe. A number of rituals are performed, including a visit to the Holy Mosque, which houses a large stone monolith called the Ka'abah and the Black Stone - a relic of Abraham's original shrine. Praying all the while, the pilgrims circle the Ka'abah seven times and walk or run between two sacred hills seven times.Habib Diab Ghanim is a Lebanese Muslim who made the pilgrimage to Mecca many years ago. But it still resonates within him as one of his life's most profound experiences."As soon as you go you feels as if you are in God's house. Nobody can describe to you that kind of feeling. I have tried so hard to even describe it to my friends-- I just can't-- the satisfaction you get that you are treading in the same places the where the Prophet stayed. The height for me in the Haj was going to a place called Makkam Abrahim. The place where Prophet Abraham used to sit and pray, hours right on that spot. I felt like nothing in my life; it was so unique. I felt I was talking to God."Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. I'm Jim Metzner.