The annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy city of Mecca is mandatory for healthy Muslims at least once in a lifetime, if they can afford it.

For 42-year-old pilgrim Maryam Abdalla of Kenya, a mother of three and nurse at a government hospital, the journey has not been an easy one.

But after seven years of planning and praying, Abdalla says she is content with the feeling that she has accomplished one of her life-long dreams.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports.