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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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This year, three million pilgrims -- among them 66,000 Egyptians -- have completed the Holy Pilgrimage, praying on Mount Arafat and circumambulating the Ka'ba. In so doing, they have followed in the footsteps of countless millions before them, accomplishing the duties required of every Muslim who undertakes the sacred journey 
A place of fascination and mystery for non-Muslims, the Ka'ba remained hidden from their eyes for centuries, as they were forbidden to approach this most revered symbol of holiness. Mohamed Sadic Bey was the first to photograph Mecca and Madina; he managed to capture a rare view of the Ka'ba and carried away its image in 1880.
In this picture, the Ka'ba is covered with black velvet encrusted with gold calligraphy. For long years, the cover was painstakingly woven and embroidered in Egypt by specialised craftsmen, then borne within the mahmal (palanquin) to Mecca, where it was received with pomp and circumstance and laid upon the Ka'ba during a solemn ceremony conducted by the Servant of the Holy Shrines. The old covering was cut into small pieces and distributed among the pilgrims.
Today, however, the mahmal is sent from Egypt no longer, and the beautiful covering is now manufactured in Mecca.
(photograph by Mohamed Sadic Bey, 1880, in Orientalism, Delacroix to Klee, Roger Benjamin et al., eds. Thames and Hudson, 1997)
A journey of faith
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