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History and inspiration

Journeys and stories

For fourteen centuries people have travelled to Makkah by every means: on foot, by camel, by ship and by plane. These pages tell some of their stories, with sources.

Last checked: November 2026. Written for pilgrims travelling from the UK.

Every story here is sourced. Where reports are unclear, for example whether a public figure performed Hajj or Umrah, we leave it out.

The Farewell Hajj of the Prophet ﷺThe only Hajj the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ performed after the Hijrah, in 10 AH (632 CE): how it was announced, what he did, and why every Hajj follows it.Famous pilgrims in historyStories of famous Hajj journeys: Mansa Musa of Mali (1324), the traveller Ibn Battuta, Ibn Jubayr's travel account, and Malcolm X's Hajj in 1964.Walking, cycling and sailing to HajjModern pilgrims who walked to Makkah, including Adam Mohammed from Wolverhampton (2021 to 2022) and Senad Hadžić from Bosnia (2011 to 2012), and how pilgrims travelled before planes.