This chart of the Great Mosque of Mecca (
Masjid al-Haram) is part of the literary tradition surrounding the pilgrimage to Mecca (
hajj),
including books of prayers, practical guides with schematic depictions,
and pilgrimage certificates. Important locations within the precinct of
the mosque are identified in Arabic in black
naskh script.
Similar maps are thought to have been produced for Indian pilgrims in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by draughtsmen working in the
Hijaz.
Aga Khan Museum AKM00529