The Pilgrimage to Makkah

Overview

“The Pilgrimage to Makkah”(1963) is a historic visual record of the yearly holy ritual, shot by Safouh I. Naamani, a pioneer of color photography in the Kingdom. For 13 years, from 1950 to 1963, Naamani was determined to produce a documentary about the Pilgrimage. Receiving official approval in 1963, work began and was completed nine months later in San Francisco where an Arabic and a differing English version were produced. The film was one of many projects documenting the life of the Kingdom recorded by Naamani, including internal events as well as official international visits hosted by His Majesty King Faisal. Also screening for the first time as a collected work is unique Jeddah footage, captured by Naamani from 1954-1968 on his 16 mm camera.