Century-old Haj photographs on display in Riyadh

Vice Minister of Culture and Information, Abdullah Al-Jasser, inaugurated an exhibition of a rare collection of century-old photographs of Makkah, at the National Museum in Riyadh on Tuesday. 
The exhibition was organized by the French Embassy in Riyadh, and co-sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Al Thurath Foundation, the National Museum, Banque Saudi-Fransi, Thalès, EADS, Alcatel Lucent and Hoshan Group. 
This unique collection displayed memorable Haj photos dating back to 1908, taken by Mohammad Al Hussayni and found in the archives of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies in Paris.  
Speaking on the occasion, Al-Jasser said that each photograph displayed in the exhibition represents a priceless token of the past. He added that he hoped this show would further promote cultural dialogue between the Islamic world and the West, as well as the two friendly nations. 
Speaking to Arab News, French Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot assured that the exhibition serves to promote joint studying of the Arab-Muslim literary heritage. “The Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies (IDEO) and France aspire to enable greater interaction between Islam and the West, at the highest levels,” he said. 
He pointed out that the cooperation between Al Thurath Foundation, the National Museum and IDEO, embodies interfaith dialogue, which is so dear to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.  The exhibition was previously held in Jeddah in 2011 at Bab Al Bont Museum. Commenting on the rare collection of photographs Jeddah Governor said, the photographs gave the rest of the world a precious glimpse into the Islamic culture.  
Commenting on the collection, Jean-Jacques Pérennès said the photographs enabled viewers to appreciate the difficulties pilgrims used to face in the yester years. 
The Hussayni collection shows the pilgrims arriving by sea at the port of Jeddah, this was the traditional itinerary for pilgrims coming from North Africa and Egypt. Pilgrims from all over the world, had for centuries converged at the Red Sea ports of Al-Quosayr or Aydhab, where they would board rickety feluccas, at their own risk, as evidenced by the medieval chroniclers. 
In 1247 H, the road through the Sinai was opened and Suez became the boarding port to Jeddah, as Pilgrims met up with caravans arriving from Istanbul and Damascus. They traveled a total distance of 1,300km and were escorted by soldiers in order to ensure that the riches of the convoy were not stolen. In 1865, some 20,000 pilgrims died of cholera in the holy city. 
The arrival of steamships in 1858 changed everything drastically: Suez and Jeddah became ports where pilgrims converged even from India and Sumatra.