by Newsha Tavakolian (Author), Rageh Omaar (Foreword by)
Some twelve million Islamic pilgrims flock to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina annually in a voyage that is bidden of them by the fifth of the five pillars of Islam. If it can be funded, it is a religious duty to make the journey before they die. In recent years the Grand Mosque, and indeed the whole infrastructure that the pilgrims will encounter on their journey, has been substantially renovated and rebuilt to allow for the huge numbers who will come from all four corners of the earth. This photographic celebration of the Hajj pilgrimage will establish itself as the essential keepsake - a treasured tool in presenting the sights the traveller will encounter in the holy cities. Newsha Tavakolian's remarkable photography is reproduced here with full captions that detail the events and rituals that form part of the pilgrimage.
Author Biography
Newsha Tavakolian is a self-taught photographer who started her professional life at 16 years old. She went on to have her material published internationally and win awards with such prestigious journals as the National Geographic Magazine. She is the founder of the women's magazine, Zan, and later worked for nine other reformist dailies, all since banned in her native Iran.