'Oestliche Seite des Berges'. Photographer: al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār

Content

Genre/Subject Matter:

This landscape view shows ‘the east side of Mount [‘Arafah]’ as well as the Plain of Arafat or ‘Arafah. Located 21 km southeast of the Masjid al-Haram, the plain, which extends 6 km from east to west and 12 km from north to south, and the 70 metre high granite hill at the centre of it – visible here on the horizon at left – are stations of the hadj. Mount Arafat is located northeast of the plain and is also known as Jabal al-Rahmah or Mount of Mercy.

On the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah , known as the Day of Arafat, just before noon, pilgrims gather on the plain to perform wuquf or ‘standing before God’, as can be seen in this image: this is a pillar of the hadj and must be undertaken in order the pilgrimage to be valid. In this image the background and middle ground are populated by pilgrims and their tents.

Many of the pilgrims visible here – male and female – are wearing the two piece garb, consisting of two white seamless sheets, associated with being in the state of ihram . The men have clearly shaved their heads as a part of the ritual cleansing ceremony undertaken at the beginning of the hadj in order to enter into the state of ihram . A woman standing behind the tent in the foreground at left wears a headscarf and faces the camera.

In the foreground, an awning or tent (which is the same one visible in X463/14) billows in the wind, covering full sacks, firewood and other camping supplies.

The negative has had hand-work applied, creating a drawing-like quality throughout where the original plate may have been over-exposed and where the photographer wished to pick up some small details, such as the face of the man left of centre. Arabic script written directly into the image has been erased subtly, but is visible upon close inspection in the lower centre of the image as well as in the central sky area of the image.

This is the second (right-hand) of three photographs taken from the same vantage point, which form a panoramic view over the plain. The first and third are X463/14 and X463/16 respectively.

Inscriptions:

Above image, on the right, in ink: ‘XIV’

Temporal Context:

According to Durkje van der Wal in his publication Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje: The First Western Photographer in Mecca, 1884-1885 (Amsterdam : Manfred & Hanna Heiting Fund, Rijksmuseum, 2011, pp. 43-51), the photographs in this publication that pertain to the hadj (this image included) likely date to August 1888 since this was the period of the last hadj before February 1889, the date Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje received the final consignment of images.

Extent and format

1 collotype print

It is part of

'Bilder aus Mekka' by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje

62 images

Ref: X463

Physical characteristics

Dimensions:

185 x 240 mm

Format:

Collotype print, pasted into volume

Condition:

The print is in good condition with minor surface dirt and light abrasions throughout.

Foliation:

‘XIV’

Process:

Collotype

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Photograph

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

X463/15

History of this record

Date(s)

1886-1889 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Landscape photography

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Cite this record in your research

'Oestliche Seite des Berges'. Photographer: al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, X463/15, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514790.0x00000e> [accessed 28 November 2024]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023514790.0x00000e

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