Haremeyn Makka al-Mukarrama and al-Madina al-Munawwara in photographs from the Ottoman period

This joint publication of IRCICA and Kuveyt Türk is the second revised edition of the album which was published by IRCICA under the same title in 2013. It contains reproductions of historical photographs of Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara selected from the archive of IRCICA, mainly the Yıldız Albums dating from the reign of the Sultan Abdulhamid II (late 19th – early 20th century) and the collection of Fahreddin Pasha, the “Defender of Madina”. The Introduction gives the history of services rendered by Muslim states and peoples for the protection and maintenance of the Holy Ka’ba and Masjid al-Haram in Makka al-Mukarrama, and al-Masjid al-Nabawi in al-Madina al-Munawwara. These services include restorations, infrastructure development, arrangements relating to the Hajj, the Surra (gifts and social assistance by the Ottoman Sultans carried to the region by caravans on annual basis), waqfs allocated to the holy cities and monuments, among others. The album is divided into four parts, relating to Makka, Madina, the Surra, and miscellaneous photographs – of adjacent cities, economic life, social activities, personalities, etc. The photographs are accompanied by extensive texts in English, Arabic and Turkish. This scholarly album is a valuable addition to sources on the history of Makka and Madina during the period corresponding to the last forty years of the Ottoman period.