page_title: History of the Hajj
section_title: The Hajj routes
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Hajj / In Medieval and Ottoman eras / The Hajj routes
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Deze foto is gemaakt aan boord van ms. "Kota Nopan" van de Rotterdamsche Lloyd dat op 19 september 1937 was vertrokken uit Belawan, de haven bij Medan. Waarschijnlijk bevond het schip zich ergens in de Rode Zee op het moment dat deze foto gemaakt werd. Aan boord veel hadji's (hajs) op weg naar Mekka en andere passagiers, onder wie mej. M.E. Wenckebach, op weg naar Nederland.
context_page_description: Islamic writers claim it started from the time of Abraham through the establishment of the Islamic Hajj by Islamic prophet Muhammad, to the present-day hajj where millions of Muslims perform their pilgrimage annually. In Islamic tradition, pilgrimage was introduced during the time of prophet Ibrahim. Upon God's command, he built Kaaba which became the destination of pilgrimage. For the pagan Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Arabia, Kaaba was still the center of their worshiping. The present pattern of the Islamic Hajj was established by Muhammad, around 632 CE, who made reforms to the pre-Islamic pilgrimage of the pagan Arabs. During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in chief cities like Basra, Damascus, and Cairo to go to Mecca in groups and caravans comprising tens of thousands of pilgrims.
  In the fairly long history of hajj, the nomadic tribes of desert – known as Bedouin – had been a somewhat persistent security issue for the hajj caravans. Again, throughout the history, the pilgrimage journey to Mecca had offered the pilgrims as well as the professional merchants the opportunity to conduct various merchandising activities both on route and in Mecca, Damascus, and Cairo.
context_section_description: In medieval Iraq, the principal gathering points for the pilgrims were Kufa and Basra where the former was connected to the Hejaz region by the Way of Zubayda. This Iraqi route started from Kufa, ran through Fayd (a place near Jabal Shammar in central part of Saudi Arabia), crossed the Nejd region (a region in central Saudi Arabia), proceeded to Medina, and then reached Mecca. In medieval Syria, the departure point for the pilgrims was Damascus. This Syrian route started from Damascus, and heading south, reached Al-Karak and then Ma'an (both are in present-day Jordan), crossed through  Tabuk (a place in north-western Saudi Arabia),  Hijr (now Mada'in Saleh ), and Al-Ula (in north-western Saudi Arabia, 380 km north of Medina), then proceeded to Medina, and then reached Mecca. Since the Umayya rule until the Ottoman time, the town of Ma'an served as a market place for the pilgrims on the Syrian route. In the Egyptian route, the pilgrims would gather in Cairo, and after four days, start for the ground of Ajrud (24 kilometers northwest of Suez), and from there they would reach Suez, and crossing the Sinai Peninsula through Al-Nakhl point, they would reach Aqaba (in south part of present-day Jordan), then traveling parallel to Red Sea, they reach Yanbu, then proceed to Medina, and finally reach Mecca. The hajj caravans would start their pilgrimage journey from there, traveled by land or sea and through deserts, and, after the performance of pilgrimage, return there. The total journey would take approximately two to three months on average. 
  The pilgrimage to Mecca was mainly an overland journey using camels as a means of transport.  Throughout the history, however, many distant pilgrims from Maghreb, Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia also had to use various sea routes to reach Hejaz. Pilgrims from Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria, Libya) would travel through the lower coast of Mediterranean sea to reach and join the Cairo caravans. Some pilgrims coming from Africa would cross the Red Sea to reach Hejaz, and then to Mecca.
caption: Mecca pilgrims from the Netherlands East Indies on board of the Rotterdamsche Lloyd steamer 'Kota Nopan', Red Sea (1937 CE).
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