Abd Al-Ghaffar | photograph of the Kabbah at Mecca, c.1885

MECCA--AL-SAYYID ABD AL-GHAFFAR

Photograph of the Haram al-Sharif and Kaaba at Mecca, c.1887

ALBUMEN PRINT (188 x 242mm.), captioned in Arabic on the mount 'Prayer around the Kaaba', minor creases and spotting

A RARE PHOTOGRAPH BY THE FIRST ARAB PHOTOGRAPHER OF MECCA. Abd al-Ghaffar is the earliest known photographer from Mecca and the first resident to photograph the holy city. He ranks alongside Mohammed Sadiq Bey and Snouck Hurgronje, as a pioneer photographer of the holy sites of Islam in Arabia.