In Learning from Gulf Cities, the exhibition of urban photography that recently opened at New York University Abu Dhabi, the show's curators insist that rather than being exceptional, the cities of the Arabian Gulf are merely particularly extreme examples of widespread global trends. If that is the case, then similar rules would also seem to apply when it comes to Makkah, the city on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula that occupies an exceptional place in the hearts and minds of 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide.
With an estimated population of 1.5 million, Makkah is the product of forces that combine the local and the global, modernity and tradition, and the sacred and the profane, in ways that are ostensibly unique. More than 1.8 million Muslims performed Hajj in 2016 and, according to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, more than 15 million Muslims are expected to perform Umrah annually by the year 2020 and more than 30 million by the year 2030.
Last year, more than 8 million visitors performed Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan alone.
The result is not only landmark projects such as the Abraj Al Bait, a cluster of seven skyscrapers that culminate in the 601-metre-tall Makkah Royal Clock Tower, but the development of informal settlements that are estimated to house approximately 40 per cent of Makkah's total population, large numbers of whom are pilgrims who have remained in the city and now constitute a significant proportion of migrant labour.
Both sides of this remarkable urban transformation have been recorded by the Saudi artist and photographer Ahmed Mater since 2008, in a series of works that are about to go on display in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.
"What started as a desire to show only the changes taking place has ended with a full and exhaustive depiction of a site that can be accessed only by those of the Islamic faith," the artist explains in statement that accompanies Ahmed Mater: Makkah Journeys.
“This collection of images, with their diverse and extreme points of reference, represents the deliberately experimental, meandering, and serendipitous nature of my journey to the heart of Makkah. They are testaments to the cultural and political conditions of contemporary Saudi society.”
Featuring large-scale photographs from his 2016 project Desert of Pharan: Unofficial Histories Behind the Mass Expansion of Makkah, the exhibition also includes more intimate portraits of the city's diverse inhabitants, workers and migrants, who are drawn from more than 80 nationalities, while chronicling the influx of wealth that is transforming the city.
As is so often the case in the history of urban photography, it is often the seemingly extraordinary visions of a culture that end up being the most enduring and formative, and it seems that Mater’s photographs will come to define how the public see and understand Makkah at this pivotal moment in its history.
As Makkah is inevitably transformed in the coming decades, Mater’s haunting shots of the city’s traditional backstreets will surely perform a similar role to the images of old, pre-Haussmann Paris that were created by the photographer Charles Marville in the 1860s, which simultaneously captured the disappearance of one way of life and the emergence of others.
“I need to be here, in the city of Makkah, now, experiencing, absorbing, and recording my place in this moment of transformation, after which things may never be the same again,” states Mater, a trained physician who abandoned his career in medicine to become a full-time artist.
“It has become important for me to identify with this place and to understand how this constellation of change, as well as the forces that are shaping it, will affect the community of which I am a part.”
In documenting its specific patterns of wealth and luxury, migration and labour, the artist shows that even in this most unique of cities it is the familiarity and commonality of the urban experience that is the true revelation. Extreme, yes. Exceptional, certainly, but Mater’s vision of Makkah is also undeniably humane.
Ahmed Mater: Makkah Journeys runs at the Brooklyn Museum from December 1 to April 8. For more details, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org
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Read more:
NYUAD exhibition shows the global influence of the Gulf's cities
Art Jameel launches major commissions programme for new, Dubai-based works
Not alone, but first: Saudi women curate British contemporary art
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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BMW M5 specs
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court (4pm UAE/12pm GMT)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) v Heather Watson (GBR)
Rafael Nadal (ESP x4) v Karen Khachanov (RUS x30)
Andy Murray (GBR x1) v Fabio Fognini (ITA x28)
Court 1 (4pm UAE)
Steve Johnson (USA x26) v Marin Cilic (CRO x7)
Johanna Konta (GBR x6) v Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Naomi Osaka (JPN) v Venus Williams (USA x10)
Court 2 (2.30pm UAE)
Aljaz Bedene (GBR) v Gilles Muller (LUX x16)
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Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x13) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x12) v Sam Querrey (USA x24)
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Caroline Garcia (FRA x21) v Madison Brengle (USA)
Benoit Paire (FRA) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
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Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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