One Thousand Roads to Mecca : Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage (Michael Wolfe)

ISBN: 0802135994
Author: Michael Wolfe
Publisher: Grove Press (February 1, 1999)
Pages: 620 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

Description:

Since its inception in the seventh century, the pilgrimage to Mecca, or the Hajj, has been the central theme in a large body of Islamic literature. Beginning with the European Renaissance, it has also been the subject for a handful of adventurous writers from the West who, through conversion or connivance, managed to slip inside the walls of a city forbidden to non-Muslims. One Thousand Roads to Mecca collects significant works by observant travel writers from the East and West over the last ten centuries. These two very different literary traditions form distinct sides of a spirited conversation in which Mecca is the common destination and Islam the common subject of inquiry.

Praise

“A first-rate addition to a spiritual library.”—Los Angeles Times

“A tradition of Muslim writing aimed at the insiders and out.” —The Boston Globe

“Wolfe does an exemplary job of detailing the ceremonies performed at Mecca and the reasons behind them. The chosen excerpts give the readers a sense of how the hajj has changed over time as well as how constant the central ceremonies have remained. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Serves as an excellent introduction to a religion, people, culture, and philosophy.”—Santa Cruz Sentinel