Among the duties God imposes upon every Muslim capable of doing so is a pilgrimage to the holy places in and around Mecca in Arabia Not only is it a religious ritual filled with blessings for the millions who make the journey annually but it is also a social political and commercial experience that for centuries has set in motion a flood of travelers across the world s continents Whatever its outcome spiritual enrichment cultural exchange financial gain or ruin the road to Mecca has long been an exhilarating human adventure By collecting the firsthand accounts of these travelers and shaping their experiences into a richly detailed narrative F E Peters here provides an unparalleled literary history of the central ritual of Islam from its remote pre Islamic origins to the end of the Hashimite Kingdom of the Hijaz in 1926