PhotoBooks Saudi Arabia

These photographs of the Muslim holy cities Mecca and Medina, taken by a Japanese convert, Ali Kazuyoshi Nomachi, are something new for most Westerners, and perhaps even for many Muslims. Non-Muslims are never allowed into Mecca, and it is almost unheard-of for religious and government leaders to allow such pictures to be taken. Most of these images were shot during the holy month of Ramadan, when many faithful are in Mecca and Medina on pilgrimage.

Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University, has contributed an essay explaining the history and significance of the two cities. "Mecca and its twin city Medina flourish as the heart and sacred Center of the Islamic universe and will continue to do so as long as there are men and women who accept the truth of Lailaha illa'Llah and Muhammadun rasul Allah," he writes. Nomachi has worked for National Geographic and Life, and his pictures have the information-packed clarity one might expect. There are fascinating images: literally hundreds of thousands of white-robed believers circling the Ka'bah, Mecca's sacred center; men ritually shaving one another's heads; tired families fasting; small children praying. Nomachi's pictures are oddly cool, but they convey the all-encompassing nature of the faith. Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant will be especially thrilling to those Muslims still planning their pilgrimage.

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The Messenger of God said, "Whenever the door of supplicatory prayer du'a is opened unto any of ye, the doors of Mercy too shall be opened unto him."--Qur'an

Doors of the Kingdom is a unique collection of photographs depicting the ancient and disappearing craft of doormaking in Arabia. The Islamic concept of hurma, or sanctity of a place of dwelling or worship, is recurrent throughout Arabic poetry and literature. The door (bab), preserver of sanctity, becomes symbolic of the boundary between public and private space, and between the profane and the sacred. In 1995, Haajar Gouverneur traveled throughout the Arabian Peninsula photographing each region's distinctive doorways and the remaining artisans who make them. The doors of Arabia, painstakingly hand-carved from the wood of the Al-Athel trees, last in their exquisite variety for hundreds of years. This ancient craft, passed down from generation to generation in the central and northern regions of Saudi Arabia, is now nearly extinct. Modern materials, technology, and changing priorities threaten the continuity of the sacred and artisanal tradition of doormaking.

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Journey into the Arabian desert, a place few outsiders have ever visited. With an insight and sensitivity that reveal her love of this region, Isabel Cutler demystifies the landscape and people in Mysteries of the Desert. Dramatic lighting, shadows, and cloud patterns punctuate the moody desertscapes and provide a fascinating counterpoint to portraits of the vibrant Bedouins who live in this stark land. Cutler's full-color photographs celebrate the hearty life in the desert, exploring the subtle patterns made by windswept dunes, sand textures produced by the erosion of rock, and relics of ancient palaces. Accompanying the evocative images are excerpts from classic and modern Arabic verse--a tribute to the rich oral and written poetry traditions of the culture. This captivating book reveals the timeless essence of the land and its people.

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The great architecture which Mohamed Amin illustrates in such compelling detail here in The Beauty of Makkah and Madinah is Muslim in its ethos. And, of all the edifices, the mosques dwarf everything in their ambitious conception, their grace and power, and the religious devotion which they inspire.

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