I have just returned from The Hajj.
At this point in time I am at a loss for words to effectively describe my Hajj. Suffice it to say it was an amazing, spiritually-uplifting and moving experience. Additionally, I was part of a great group and made many friends.
Here is a gargantuan collection of pictures from the pilgrimage (taken with the Samsung SGH-X820)
Unfortunately, the best pictures were the personal ones (and I am not publishing those!). You will have to settle for these.
Arriving in Jeddah
A Checkpoint
The View From The Hotel In Aziziyah
The Hotel Entrance
A Sermon Following A Regular Prayer
Fill Up The Plate. It's Fuel. We Have A Long Way Ahead.
The Kuwaiti Contingency In Mena
A Vendor In Mena
The Caffeine Abode In Mena
Beads For Sale In Mena
Spending The Night In Mena
A Sermon At The Mena Camp
The Area Outside Our Tent
3 a.m. - Mena
The Pebbles I Picked Up At Muzdalifa In Anticipation Of The Stoning Of The Devil Ritual In Jemarat
Arriving At The Jemarat
Walking Towards The Three Pillars Of The Devil
On The Horizon: The First Pillar
Stoning The Devil With 7 Pebbles
Exiting The Jemarat Area
Arriving Under Masjid Al-Haram
Outside The Masjid Al-Haram
Muslims Performing The Final 'Tawaf' Around The Holy Ka'aba
Members Of The 'Hamla' (Tour Group) Preparing To Pose For A Photograph
The Group Picture
Comments (12)
strange , normaly they don't let people enter with camera's
Anyway Great pictures
تقبل الله طاعتك
Posted by forzaq8 | January 5, 2007 11:01 PM
Posted on January 5, 2007 23:01
تقبل الله طاعتك
Posted by Don Veto | January 8, 2007 11:14 AM
Posted on January 8, 2007 11:14
Thank you friends - Taqabal mina wa minkum.
Posted by amer | January 8, 2007 12:13 PM
Posted on January 8, 2007 12:13
حجا مبرورا و سعيا مشكورا يا أخي.
thats just a blessing to have the chance to undertake it, and the pictures are just very Nice.
Posted by Eman | January 9, 2007 1:57 PM
Posted on January 9, 2007 13:57
تقبل الله طاعتك
Posted by MacaholiQ8 | January 12, 2007 4:54 PM
Posted on January 12, 2007 16:54
حجا مبرورا و سعيا مشكورا
Posted by Ali & Musaed | January 12, 2007 9:08 PM
Posted on January 12, 2007 21:08
Amazing pictures, thanks for sharing.
Posted by Toxy | January 13, 2007 1:06 AM
Posted on January 13, 2007 01:06
These photos are amazing. Takabal Allah.
Posted by muhannad | January 13, 2007 4:55 AM
Posted on January 13, 2007 04:55
As a non-Muslim who'll (probably) never get to go to Mecca, your photos were great - really made it seem more "real" than all these so-called documentaries and "let's make Islam seem cool" CNN documentaries over new year.
I just feel some concern for the future of Mecca... I've analysed the geography of the area, and if you consider the increase in people who will want to go there in the future... it's going to be an impossible situation where a much smaller and smaller proportion of the world's Muslim population will have the chance to go. I hope the city planners are thinking about this well in advance.
Posted by moocherx | January 15, 2007 1:48 PM
Posted on January 15, 2007 13:48
Ali/Musaed,
Toxy,
Eman,
Veto,
Forzaq,
Moocherx,
Muhannad,
MacaholicQ8 et al:
Thanks for the kind greetings and for your comments.
Forzaq: I too thought it was illegal to photograph inside and I truly stuck to that until I saw various individual with camera phones posing for shots. so I went ahead and took a shot of myself with the Ka'aba in the background and other assorted shots as well.
Moocherx:The enlargement of the Jemarat area (stoning the devil pillars) was a new event this year and made a big difference to us. The pillars used to be very narrow (you can see they have been substantially enlarged in the pictures) and people died last year - the authorities seemed to have done an excellent job so far.
But yes, Muslim pilgrims are increasing substantially by the year (I heard figures of 3 million and up this year).
I think the authorities could focus a bit more on transportation and roads cause that's where the main gridlock happens - a couple of cops impede traffic and that results in hours of delay and frusttration.
Posted by amer | January 15, 2007 3:25 PM
Posted on January 15, 2007 15:25
Amazing documentary of your journey through pictures.
Welcome back Hajji.
Posted by cajie | January 23, 2007 3:36 PM
Posted on January 23, 2007 15:36
Thanks Cajie!
Keep taking your striking pics, nice work there.
Posted by amer | January 23, 2007 8:30 PM
Posted on January 23, 2007 20:30