In 1814 the Swiss traveller, living as a Muslim scholar, entered the Hejaz and recorded what few Europeans had seen: Jeddah and its trade, the road to Mecca, the Great Mosque and the Kaaba, the rites of the hajj and the holy places around the city. He describes the Sherif Ghaleb’s rule, the Wahhabi wars and daily life with a careful, unsensational eye.
Published after Burckhardt’s early death, it remains a classic source on Mecca and the pilgrimage before modern times. Download the free EPUB.