Photo of the Week: Abdulaziz Salah
At Asr in Makkah, Abdulaziz Salah captures the Mataf as thousands in white fall into perfect order around the Kaaba.
Abdulaziz Salah is a photographer from Makkah, drawn to the places where the human and the sacred meet. For him, the lens tends to settle where devotion becomes tangible.
For this edition of Photo of the Week, he turns that intuition towards the Masjid al-Haram. Thousands of worshippers fill the mataf around the Kaaba, their rows drawn into a single, unbroken expanse of white, the ihram of those who have come for Umrah.
It is the call to Asr, and the crowd that moves ceaselessly through this place has, for a few minutes, fallen into perfect order.
What is the story behind this photo?
This photo shows thousands of worshippers, their rows covered in white, the colour of the ihram worn by pilgrims performing Umrah. The scene highlights the order and harmony of the rows inside the Mataf courtyard, where hearts gathered around one purpose and turned towards one qibla.
Where and when was it taken?
The photo was taken at the Grand Mosque during Asr prayer inside the Mataf courtyard, two years ago during the holy month of Ramadan.
Why did you choose this photo specifically?
What drew me to it was that vast expanse of white, and the beauty of the worshippers’ perfectly aligned rows. They looked almost like a solid structure, moving with one heart towards the Holy Kaaba.
- Previous Article Museum of the Future Opens Global Call for Exhibition Ideas
