The British Museum’s latest exhibition Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam (until 15 April) sets out to explain the mysteries of this annual pilgrimage. Last year, a total of 2,927,719 pilgrims went to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, something that all Muslims should try to do at least once in their lifetime.
Such huge numbers are hard to visualise, so a film, projected on to a wall, is a great help: one sees, I suppose, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arriving in the city, and walking round Islam’s most sacred site, the Ka’ba, confined as they are to the courtyard of the Grand Mosque and surrounding areas. And because of its rather claustrophobic atmosphere, the BM’s old reading room is — for once — just the right place to hold an exhibition.
The show looks at the epic journeys undertaken by pilgrims from the 7th century to the present day. In the Middle Ages, a pilgrim could take up to eight years to complete his trip, travelling by foot, boat and camel; in the 19th century, Thomas Cook was the official Hajj travel agent — it stopped when it was no longer profitable; today there are many companies on the internet offering packages.
Many facts and figures are displayed on boards throughout the rooms, giving us a beginner’s guide to Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. Among other objects on show are a red-embroidered ceremonial palanquin, carried on a camel, which formed the centre of a pilgrim caravan from Cairo; a toy theatre set, with camels, tents, luggage, servants and pilgrims; plus many manuscripts, photographs, tiles and textiles.