Mecca and Medina, two ancient cities in present-day Saudi Arabia, are sacred to all followers of Islam, one quarter of the world’s population. The distinguished Japanese photographer Ali Kazuyoshi Nomachi, a convert to the Muslim faith, was given unprecedented access to both cities, including Medina’s Mosque of the Prophet and Mecca’s sacred center, the Kabah, the remarkable and beautiful building to which more than a million pilgrims travel every year during the holy month of Ramadan.

Nomachi’s rich color images include views of the teeming crowds making their annual pilgrimage, or hajj; details of extraordinary Islamic architecture; portraits of faithful worshippers; and aerial and ground-level photographs of desert areas nearby.

Accompanying the photographs and numerous archival illustrations, Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasrs text forms a valuable guide to the spiritual and historical foundations of the Muslim faith.