Mecca: Photographic Diary

Mecca Through The Lens

For most Muslims, performing the HAJI pilgrimage is an extraordinary spiritual experience which can often better be described through images. This is the thinking behind the launch of “Makkah Photographic Diary”, the third book in the “Makkah” trilogy after “Makkah:Final Destinations” by Zarqoni Maksum and “The Other Side of Makkah” by Maha Eka Swasta. “Makkah : Photograohic Diary” contains images created by two photojournalists, Saptono Soemardjo and Prasetyo Utomo, and was launched at Antara Gallery in Jakarta on August 3.

The 176-page book contains 144 photographs which showcase a variety of scenes that were snapped during the largest gathering of mankind In the world. These picture were taken not only in referent atmospheres of worship such as wuquf in Arafat, jumroh throwing in Mina and tawaf circling in Ka’bah, but also incorporate the hustle and bustle of the city during the pilgrimage season, as well as construction activity, the floods that hit several areas of Mecca, and plenty of human interest.