Haram Mosque in the month of Capricorn
This excerpt from Naser e Khosraw's travelogue in One Thousand Roads to Mecca commences a series of medieval Hajj accounts.
A description of the city of Mecca. The city of Mecca is situated low in the midst of mountains such that from whatever direction you approach, the city cannot be seen until you are there. The tallest mountain near Mecca is Abu Qubays, which is round like a dome, so that if you shoot an arrow from the foot of the mountain it reaches its top. Abu Qubays is to the east of the city, so that if you should be in the Haram Mosque in the month of Capricorn you see the sun rise from behind the top of the mountain. On top of the mountain is a stone stele said to have been erected by Abraham.

Snow clad mountains, dense jungles, green valleys, terraces, cascades, and some great meals -- these are the things that come to mind when I recall the trek to Annapurna Base Camp, better known as ABC.

My wife and I started the trek from Phedi, a small village, on the evening of November 10, 2006. It was a case of getting out of the car, after a six hour drive from Kathmandu, and immediately starting off. Soon it became dark and cold and we had to turn our torches on. So after an hour and a half, when our guide Ram Singh, a witty and talkative fellow in his late forties, suggested that we call it a day and check into a tourist lodge at Dhampus, we were only too eager to comply.

That was the beginning of a series of pleasant surprises. We realized that thanks to the lodges, which are located in all villages on the route, trekking in Nepal was going to be a fairly comfortable affair compared to the relatively harsh trekking conditions in northern Pakistan. Most of the lodges provided neat bedrooms, a whole menu of appetizing meals, and running water heated by solar energy. That most Nepalis could also understand basic Urdu (which they called Hindi) further helped us feel comfortable.

The best thing about the trek was the dense jungle we passed through on most days. In some places it was so thick that sunlight would barely reach us. Then there was a variety of birds which kept us company all along. While most of the wildlife we saw comprised of baboons, one day we were exceptionally lucky as we caught sight of a clouded leopard, and a wildcat, which is highly secretive in nature, being chased away by shepherd dogs near Tadapani.

The most challenging aspect of the trek was the stairs, as they took a heavy toll on our knees. Since we were used to trekking on winding paths, we found it hard to believe that there could be so many constructed stairs on a trek. To give you an idea, on one day, while going from Chomrong to Sinua, we climbed down 1600 stairs and then climbed up 1700 of them. And the day didn't finish there but required another three hours walk to Dovan. No wonder we saw a number of trekkers wearing knee bands. Perhaps how the trek is designed has something to do with commercial interest of villagers, particularly the lodge owners, who are too dependent on the trekkers to let them take a shorter and direct path to ABC.

As the days passed by, the number of trekkers we came across increased significantly. They came from different parts of the world but perhaps the largest number came from Europe. Most were so fascinated by the local greeting -- namaste -- that they would not lose any opportunity of shouting it to others. They were also keenly interested in Nepali folk songs. One such song, Reesham Feriri, about a silkworm with an ambition to fly, was so popular that we heard both Nepalese and tourists singing it all along the trek. Ram Singh, who often whistled to its tune, proudly told us that Reesham Feriri is the "national anthem" of all tourists in Nepal and strongly recommended that we buy its CD on the way back, which we did.

The locals are neither tall nor stout but surprisingly strong. Those working for large groups often carry more than forty kilos of loads. Still, they manage to keep a fast pace, even when going uphill and make the fittest trekker feel humble. (I tested myself with one of their loads and gladly returned it after climbing a few stairs.)

Somehow everyone, tourist or Nepalese, assumed that we were Indians and expressed a great deal of surprise when we told them we are Pakistani. We asked Ram Singh if it really was that unusual for Pakistanis to come to this part of the world. With a smile, he told us that that he wasn't too sure because in his ten years as a trekking guide, this was the first time he was accompanying Pakistani trekkers.

The final two days to ABC were relatively wet and windy. When we reached the Machhapuchhare Base Camp (MBC) in the afternoon of November 15, about one and a half hours of trek before ABC, it was drizzling and visibility was poor. We were tired and cold but after a hearty meal and hot chocolate, we found strength enough to brave the odds and make it to ABC and were we glad to reach there!

ABC really is the place to be. Located at an altitude of 4130 meters, it is a natural amphitheatre surrounded by Annapurna south (7219m), Annapurna I (8091m) which is the tenth highest peak in the world, Varahashikhar (7847m), Gangapurna (7485m), Machhapuchhare (6993m), Hiunchuli (6441m) and others. There was so much to see and feel that we spent hours just sitting there and did not felt satiated. As the evening passed by, changing patterns of clouds and sunlight added to our delight further. That was the moment when we forgot all our everyday worries and made a connection with nature.

Not surprisingly, the night at ABC was seriously cold. When we came out of the room just before sunrise, we found that all that could be frozen had indeed been frozen! The sunrise photos, however, were worth the wait in the cold. Later we enjoyed a warm breakfast under the sun and got ready for the long trek downhill.

After ABC, the next target was Poon Hill, a spot from where one can see the Annapurna range, Dhaulagiri range and much more. To catch the views at Poon Hill, we had to be there before sunrise, which meant about forty-five minutes of early morning trekking from Ghorepani. On November 20, 2006 when we forced ourselves out of a lodge and to the trek at about 6 am, a strange sight greeted us. It was a caravan of lights going up the hill, light emanating from the headlamps and torches of dozens of trekkers who had gathered at Ghorepani the night before. There was excitement in the air which helped us forget the cold. In the beginning, the scene was cloudy but we decided to wait it out. Luckily, within an hour the skies opened enough for us to take a photograph of all the mountains in front of us. Having been to both ABC and Poon Hill in good weather, our morale was high and the last bit of trek to Birethanti proved a rather easy affair.

Now back home in Pakistan, we try to relive the Annapurna dream with images of Annapurna range and the sound of Reesham Firiri, hoping that some day we just might experience something similar in Nepal again.

A description of the city of Mecca. The city of Mecca is situated low in the midst of mountains such that from whatever direction you approach, the city cannot be seen until you are there. The tallest mountain near Mecca is Abu Qubays, which is round like a dome, so that if you shoot an arrow from the foot of the mountain it reaches its top. Abu Qubays is to the east of the city, so that if you should be in the Haram Mosque in the month of Capricorn you see the sun rise from behind the top of the mountain. On top of the mountain is a stone stele said to have been erected by Abraham.

The city lies on a plain between the mountains and measures only two arrow shots square. The Haram Mosque is in the middle of the plain, and the city lanes and bazaars are built all around it. Wherever there is an opening in the mountain a rampart wall has been made with a gate. The only trees in the city are at the western gate to the Haram Mosque, called Abraham's Gate, where there are several tall trees around a well. On the eastern side of the Haram Mosque a large bazaar extends from south to north. At the south end is Abu Qubays. At the foot of Abu Qubays is Mount Safa, which is like a staircase, as rocks have been set in such a fashion that people can go up to pray, which is what is meant by (the expression) "to do Safa and Marwa." At the other, the north end of the bazaar, is Mount Marwa, which is less tall and has many edifices built on it, as it lies in the midst of the city. In running between Safa and Marwa the people run inside this bazaar.

For people who have come from faraway places to perform the Minor Pilgrimage, there are milestones and mosques set up half a parasang away from Mecca, where they bind their ihram. To bind the ihram means to take off all sewn garments and to wrap a seamless garment about the waist and another about the body. Then, in loud voice, you say, "Labayk Allahumma, labayk," and approach Mecca. When anyone already inside Mecca wants to perform the Minor Pilgrimage, he goes out to one of the markets, binds his ihram, says the Labayk, and comes back into Mecca with an intention to perform the Minor Pilgrimage. Having come into the city, you enter the Haram Mosque, approach the Ka'ba, and circumambulate... always keeping the Ka'ba to your left (shoulder). Then you go to the corner containing the Black Stone, kiss it, and pass on. When the Stone is kissed once again in the same manner, one tawaf, three times quickly and four slowly. When the circumambulation is finished, you go to the Station of Abraham opposite the Ka'ba and stand behind the Station. There you perform two rakats called the Circumambulation Prayer.

Afterwards you go the Well of Zamzam, drink some water or rub some on the face, and leave the Haram Mosque by the Safa Gate. Just outside this gate are the steps up Mount Safa, and here you face the Ka'ba and say the prescribed prayer, which is well-known. When the prayer has been said, you come down from Safa and go from south to north through the bazaar to Marwa. Passing through the bazaar, you go past the gates to the Haram Mosque, where the Prophet ran and commanded others to run also. The length is about fifty paces, and on either side are two minarets. When the people coming from Safa reach the first two minarets. When the people coming from Safa reach the first two minarets, they break into a run until they pass the other two at the other end of the bazaar. Then they proceed slowly to Marwa. Upon reaching the end they go up Marwa and recite the prescribed prayer. Then they return through the bazaar and repeat the run until they have gone four times from Safa to Marwa and three times from Marwa to Safa, making seven runs the length of the bazaar. Coming down from Marwa the last time, you find a bazaar with about twenty barber-shops facing each other. You have your head shaved and, with the Minor Pilgrimage completed, come out of the Sanctuary. The large bazaar on the east side is called Souk al-Attarin (Druggists' Market). It has nice buildings, and all the shopkeepers are druggists. In Mecca there are two (public) baths each paved with a green stone from which flints are made.

I reckoned that there were not more than two thousand citizens of Mecca, the rest, about five hundred, being foreigners and mojawirs. Just at this time there was a famine, with sixteen maunds of wheat costing one dinar, for which reason a number of people had left.

Inside the city of Mecca are hospices for the natives of every region -- Khurasan, Transoxiana, the Iraq, and so on. Most of them, however, had fallen into ruination. The Baghdad caliphs had built many beautiful structures, but when we arrived some had fallen to ruin and others had been expropriated. All the well water in Mecca is too brackish and bitter to drink, but there are many large pools and reservoirs, costing up to ten thousand dinars each, that catch the rainwater from the hills. When we were there, however, they were empty. A certain prince of Aden, known as Pesar-e-Shaddel, had brought water underground to Mecca at great personal expense. This water was used to irrigate crops at Arafat and was limited to there, although conduits had been constructed and a little water reached Mecca, but not inside the city; therefore, a pool had been made to collect the water, and water carriers drew the water and brought it to the city to sell. Half a parasang out on the Borqa Road is a well called Bir al-Zahed (the Ascetic's Well). A nice mosque is located there, and the water is good. The water carriers also bring water from that place for sale.

The climate of Mecca is extremely hot. I saw fresh cucumbers and eggplants at the end of the month of Aquarius. This was the fourth time I had been to Mecca.