A Beautiful Visit to the House of Allah; Al-Hajj

Inspired by the Chronicles of Hariri, illustrations of this ceramic oval platter represent the pilgrims circulating the Kabaa (in the centre) counter clockwise during Tawaf (circulation of the Kabaa) in addition to the representation of the caravan of pilgrims traveling to Mecca for Hajj from near and far surrounding areas. The first pilgrims of the caravan begin at the top of the magnified black stone which is located opposite the black corner of the Kaaba in real life. From the black stone, the Quranic verses dealing with Hajj start and are written in Kufic script, one of the main and earliest forms of calligraphy used to copy the Quran. The caravan starts with pilgrims using horns as a sign of celebration and taking the lead. Other pilgrims are illustrated to show the various ages, sex and social and financial status of pilgrims. The background colour is chosen to represent mountains in Mecca and surrounding parts with few plantation scattered.