Pilgrim Non Grata in Mecca

[groovedaddy]

I was tempted to turn my abaya into a black masquerade cloak and sneak into Mecca, just hop over the Tropic of Cancer to the Red Sea and crash the ultimate heaven’s gate.

Sir Richard Burton, the 19th-century British adventurer, translator of “The Arabian Nights” and the “Kama Sutra” and self-described “amateur barbarian,” was an illicit pilgrim to the sacred black granite cube. He wore Arab garb and infiltrated the holiest place in Islam, the Kaaba, the “center of the Earth,” as he called it, in the Saudi city where the Prophet Muhammad was born.

But in the end, it seemed disrespectful, not to mention dangerous.

So on my odyssey to Saudi Arabia, I tried to learn about the religion that smashed into the American consciousness on 9/11 in a less sneaky way. And that’s when the paradox sunk in: It was nearly impossible for me to experience Islam in the cradle of Islam.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10dowd.html?th&emc=th

[sam sarrha]

1. you have to convert to really understand it. but then it's a death sentence to quit.. but dont worry

pretty soon Stockholm Syndrome will set in and you will feel right at home... Islam means "Submission", to Sharia Law and Allah's self appointed representatives.

[onager]

2. I lived near Mecca for 2 years.

In Jeddah, about 40 miles (60 km) away.

Sometimes on weekends, we would drive to the check-point outside Mecca and turn around. It was an interesting drive, which passed right by a giant used camel lot. That's a lot full of cranky quadrupeds, nothing to do with King Arthur.

Ahem. Try the goat, I'll be here all week...

The check-points outside Mecca are operated by the military. There are only 2 reasons to be in Mecca - either you live there, which is printed on your national Saudi ID card. Or you are a foreigner visiting as a pilgrim, which is noted in your Saudi visa.

Otherwise you just don't get into the city, legally. Get caught sneaking in illegally and I'm not sure what would happen. But I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be good. Saudi jails are often roofless alleys fenced with chain mesh. And you have to provide your own food.

re Richard Burton: as I understand it, Burton made some noises about converting to Islam. But he was dealing with an educated imam who knew Burton's reputation as an international culture-collector/gadfly, and wouldn't have anything to do with converting him.

In Jeddah, I went on my own quest to find a house that T.E. Lawrence had occupied. I finally found it, and had to hike thru giant stinking mud flats to reach it.

The Saudis used the house and grounds as a municipal vehicle parking lot. For buses, garbage trucks, etc.

To the Saudis, Lawrence is not a hero - just another colonialist interloper who backed the wrong tribe.

At one point, the Saudis wanted to demolish the "Lawrence House." I heard that they were only stopped after strong protests from the American and British embassies.