This title presents one of the earliest visual records of the Hajj and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The diaries of Mohammed Ali Effendi Sa'oudi, a civil servant and accomplished photographer, offer a rare glimpse of the Hajj through Egyptian eyes at the beginning of the twentieth century when the Ottoman Empire was on the wane and the advance of the Hijaz railway threatened to upset vested interests in the old pattern of pilgrimage. Sa'oudi twice accompanied the Amir al-Hajj, Ibrahim Rif'at Pasha, attached to the official Egyptian caravan. His story of these journeys combines the thoughts of a devout Muslim with fine detail on the hardships and health hazards facing pilgrims, the high-level intrigues, and the ever-present dangers of taking photographs. The authors have compressed the diaries into a highly readable narrative with selected quotations, lavishly illustrated with Sa'oudi's remarkable photographs.
- ISBN10 9774162900
- ISBN13 9789774162909
- Publish Date 28 February 2010
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 27 January 2021
- Publish Country EG
- Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 144
- Language English