A Photographer on the Hajj: The Travels of Muhammad 'Ali Effendi Sa'udi (1904/1908) (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789774162909)

One of the earliest visual records of the Hajj and the holy cities of Mecca and Medina

The diaries of Muhammad 'Ali Effendi Sa'udi, 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'udi 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'udi's remarkable photographs.

Author: Farid Kioumgi,Robert Graham
ISBN-10: 9774162900
ISBN-13: 9789774162909
Publisher: American University in Cairo Press
Language: English
Published: 11/15/2009
Pages: 144
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.25lbs
Size: 10.10h x 10.10w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2010 pg. 50