goodbye jeddah

This was going to be my last post — after coming home amidst a whirlwind of confusion a couple of months back, things are once again on track and I am returning to this place that is so full of contradictions for me: fascinating and stifling; beautiful and brutal... I am looking forward to the next part of this journey.

makkah (mecca)

As a Western non-muslim, working on planning of Makkah hasn't been an easy undertaking. For starters, I can't go there; this is as close as a non-muslim gets to the holiest of cities — the King Endowment (under construction) towers over the mountain in the distance... It got me thinking, maybe this is their desired effect of a new Makkah — a beacon rising in the desert.