From above, like a sea of iron filings pulled by a magnet, the whole city appears to crowd round a core, the vortex of pilgrims giving way to an equally swirling current of tower blocks.
Parts of the ground and first floor of this huge complex are open for the first time this year, welcoming pilgrims into its lofty halls, linked by escalators to 10,000 ablution places.
With the entire city choked by building work, the kingdom has taken the unusual step of urging pilgrims to delay their visit, and numbers are down 20% this year as a result of reduced visa quotas.
Before hitting the town we take a boat out to the mystical Isola di Barbana, an island sanctuary that has been drawing pilgrims since medieval times, then carry on to the most eastern point of the lagoon, to Valle Cavanata nature reserve.
The mummified bodies were buried 1,000 years ago with wooden "heads", and are thought to be diseased pilgrims drawn to the religious site in the hope of a miracle.
Raised 13m in the air, rising just above the top of the Kaaba, this floating halo provides an extra 3,000 square metres of space for perambulating pilgrims.
Then we found out they couldn't get the five-star hotels they had promised, and we were being downgraded.' After learning that their trip was cancelled, Nayyar and 60 other pilgrims who had been let down were told the firm had no assets left to refund them, although he eventually recovered his money through Go4 Hajj's Atol cover.
The Kaaba is the holy black cube in the centre of the Grand Mosque, around which pilgrims walk; proximity to it has become the ultimate currency, allowing hotel suites with the best views to charge $7,000 per night during peak seasons.
With its own dedicated Twitter feed the line of meat pilgrims starts forming as early as 8am (they open at 11am) to sample Aaron Franklin's way with brisket, ribs and pulled pork.
"Vals' magic formula is very simple," reads the promotional blurb for the 7132 hotel at Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's famous alpine spa resort, which has been a site of worship for countless design pilgrims since it opened in 1996.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all corners of Iran go there every Tuesday night - when the imam's spirit is said to be present - to pray for their saviour's return and ask him to perform miracles.
