In the late 1880s, the photographer Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar carried cumbersome equipment to the desert city of Mecca, capturing scenes of thousands of Muslim pilgrims camped in the surrounding hills and valleys during the Hajj. Today, more than 125 years later, more than two million Hajj pilgrims descended on Mecca, which has grown drastically to accommodate the annual gathering. Gathered here is a series of photographs from al Ghaffar taken sometime around 1887, compared with images from similar locations taken in 2015.
Mecca Then and Now, 128 Years of Growth
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Read moreLeft: A photograph of the Kaaba (center of photo) in the city of Mecca, circa 1887. Right: A view from a similar location 128 years later shows the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on September 25, 2015. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress—Mohammed Al-Shaikh / AFP / Getty -
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Read more(1 of 2) A photograph of the Kaaba (center of photo) in the city of Mecca circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) An aerial view shows the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia’s city of Mecca on September 25, 2015. #
Mohammed Al-Shaikh / AFP / Getty -
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Read more(1 of 2) A view of the city of Mecca, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) An aerial view of Mecca, with the Grand Mosque at center, on September 25, 2015. #
Ahmad Masood / Reuters -
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Read more(1 of 2) The western part of the Mina Valley, outside Mecca, during the Hajj pilgrimage, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) Tents for pilgrims attending the annual Hajj pilgrimage fill the Mina Valley on September 25, 2015. #
Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP -
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Read more(1 of 2) Pilgrims in the eastern part of the Mina Valley, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) Muslim pilgrims walk past tents in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, on September 25, 2015. #
Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP -
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Read more(1 of 2) Pilgrims at a rest station near Mount Arafat, east of Mecca, during the Hajj, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) Muslim pilgrims walk on roads as they head to cast stones at pillars symbolizing Satan during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina on the first day of Eid al-Adha, on September 24, 2015. #
Ahmad Masood / Reuters -
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Read more(1 of 2) Pilgrims pray while standing around the Kaaba in Mecca, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba in Mecca on September 22, 2015. #
Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP -
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Read more(1 of 2) A photograph showing buildings in Mecca, circa 1887, including the Hamīdijjah, a government building constructed during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, and the Jiyād fortress in the background. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) The Abraj Al-Bait Towers, with their four-faced clock, stand over the Kaaba as Muslims encircle it inside the Grand Mosque, during the Hajj on September 25, 2015. #
Mosa'ab Elshamy / AP -
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Read more(1 of 2) A view of the city of Mecca, circa 1887. #
Al Sayyid Abd al Ghaffar / Library of Congress -
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Read more(2 of 2) An aerial view of Mecca is seen on October 5, 2014. #
Muhammad Hamed / Reuters
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