Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah

A vivid account of the hajj in 1853, by a British explorer who travelled to Mecca disguised as a pilgrim.

Richard Francis Burton (Author)

9781108041997, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 December 2011

452 pages, 3 b/w illus. 1 colour illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.6 cm, 0.57 kg

The British explorer Sir Richard F. Burton (1821–90) was a colourful and often controversial character. A talented linguist and keen ethnologist, he worked in India during the 1840s as an interpreter and intelligence officer for General Sir Charles Napier, and published several books about his experiences in 1851–2. He first gained celebrity, however, for his adventurous 1853 trip to Mecca, under the disguise of a pilgrim, which is described in this lively three-volume publication (1855–6). Few Europeans had ever visited the Muslim holy places; one of them was John Lewis Burckhardt, whose 1829 account is also reissued in this series. Volume 2 of Burton's book vividly describes the heat and dangers of the journey to Medina, the behaviour and conversation of the pilgrims from many different tribes and nations, and the mosques, tombs and other sights of the bustling city, complete with traders and beggars.

14. From Bir Abbas to El Medinah
15. Through the suburb of El Medinah to Hamid's house
16. A visit to the Prophet's tomb
17. An essay towards the history of the Prophet's mosque
18. El Medinah
19. A ride to the mosque of Kuba
20. The visitation of Hamzah's tomb
21. The people of El Medinah
22. A visit to the Saints' cemetery
Postscript
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]