An essential book on Mecca, all the more important for being the first European account of the city under Wahhabi rule.
The author of this work was a Spaniard by the name of Domingo Badia y Leblich, who adopted the pseudonym of ‘Ali Bey before setting off for Arabia. Equipped with exceptional spoken Arabic, a deep knowledge of Islam and a revised backstory — which painted him as a descendant of the Abbasid Caliphs — he gained access to Mecca. After Varthema and Pitts, he became the third European to do so and contributed an account far exceeding those of his forebears in sympathy and tolerance.
He came upon the first dwellings of the Holy City in late January 1807, arriving roughly a week before the Hajj of 1221 AH. Having withstood the scrutiny of the Sharif of Mecca he was allowed access to the Great Mosque, where he saw the Ka’aba for the first time: “We had already traversed the portal or gallery, and were upon the point of entering the great space where the house of God, or El Kaaba, is situated, when our guide arrested our steps, and pointing with his finger towards it, said with emphasis, ‘Schouf, Schouf, el beit Allah el Haram!’ (Look, look, the house of God, the Prohibited!) The crowd that surrounded me; the portico of columns half hid from view; the immense size of the temple; the Kaaba, or house of God, covered with the black cloth from top to bottom, and surrounded with a circle of lamps or lanterns; the hour; the silence of the night; and this man speaking in a solemn tone, as if he had been inspired; all served to form an imposing picture, which will never be effaced from my memory.” This section is wonderfully illustrated with numerous engraved plates, including, inter alia, an excellent folding plate detailing a section of the temple and a folding plan of the city.
He witnessed a remarkable scene on the 3rd of February, as part of the Wahhabi army entered the city with the aim of fulfilling their pilgrimage. Of the men he gives a favourable description, noting their physical beauty, unfailing discipline and fairness in paying for any purchases. The passage is highly important as it contains the first eye-witness account of the Wahhabis in Mecca (which they first invaded in 1802) by a European.
A number of other passages refer to the Wahhabis, all of which weigh the author’s surprise at their moderate behaviour against the terror displayed by other Arabs at any mention of the movement. After a number of uneventful meetings with its members, including a sighting of Imam Saud at Mina, Badia arrived at less peaceful encounter, when they denied his entry to Medina. All of these experiences no doubt informed the separate chapter on Wahhabism, in which he provides a description of Najd and Diriyah.
In The Penetration of Arabia D.M. Hogarth lists Badia’s other accomplishments, which include being the first European to both “determine the position of Mecca by astronomical observations” and to describe the roads “leading from Mecca and Medina to the coast” (p.81).
Ibrahim-Hilmy I, pp.30 and 47; Macro, 451; Blackmer 62.
