The Documentation of the Pilgrimage Arts in Upper Egypt – A comparative Study between Ancient and Islamic Egypt

Pilgrimage was a most sacred trip for the Egyptian. One of the aspects of its celebration was depicting pilgrimage scenes, which represent a tradition of recording the most important moment in one’s life. A tradition, which is very old in the Nile Valley, as Ancient Egyptians were keen to depict scenes of their pilgrimage to Abydos on their tombs. In spite of the complete diversity belief and pilgrimage rituals in Islamic times from that of Ancient Egypt, this aspect continued in Islamic Egypt. The purpose of Hajj (pilgrimage) paintings is to commemorate this sacred trip to Mecca. Unfortunately, this kind of human heritage (pilgrimage paintings on houses) is going to vanish, due to lack of awareness. So, this paper attempts to focus on the pilgrimage scenes as to draw the attention to its importance