These photos are all from the 2010 annual hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. All Muslims who are able are expected to make the journey once in their life. Millions of people come into Saudi Arabia every year for it. Here, men stand from the top of Noor mountain, looking onto Mecca. I love the feeling of intimacy we get with the silhouettes of the men, framed by city lights. It's a highly mysterious and somehow still holy-seeming photo.
Sometimes, I tend to think of America as the epicenter of the world, downplaying all other regions and their religions subconsciously. This photo of
Muslim pilgrims circling the Kaaba at the center of the Grand mosque in Mecca is a tiny percentage of the world's 1 billion Muslims, and yet you get a true feeling that this place and these people are at the center of the world.
Here, pilgrims move around the kaaba inside the Grand Mosque. The long time exposure gives you a sense of the movement and quickness with which the outer spectators pray, compared to the inner group, who is content to remain near the kaaba longer without moving. Again, it looks like the center of the world.
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