How Selfies and Wearables Are Transforming Hajj

To selfie, or not to selfie?

Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, located in the center of the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Photographer: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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Lost in Mecca, Tarek AlZubair wandered around Islam’s holy city for 15 minutes a few months ago. He couldn’t find a designated area to carry out ritual washings required before prayer.

The information online was either nonexistent or incomplete. “I thought to myself: why can’t there be a better method?” said AlZubair, 25. So he raced to develop an app, released Wednesday, that acts as a field guide to Hajj, which starts this week.