Travel in the Islamic World

Taj Mahal in India

Although some Islamic sects prohibit the veneration of tombs, who could object to the peerless 17th-century Taj at Agra? Built in loving memory of a Mogul emperor’s wife, it is coupled for eternity with its own reflection.

Minaret of Jam in western Afghanistan

A magnet for travellers in Afghanistan, this 65m-high minaret (mosque tower) was built in the 12th century but remained unknown to the Western world until the 1800s. One of the most intriguing examples of Islamic architecture ever created, the minaret became the country’s first World Heritage site in 2002.

Hunza Valley in north Pakistan

Dressing the Karakorum Highway with cherry blossom and apricots, tidy terraces, and suspension bridges that are suspended only in willing disbelief, this heartland of the north is the secret soul of Pakistan.

Mecca in Saudi Arabia

The city that houses the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, is so revered that its name has become a metaphor used to describe any site of special significance. Accessible only to Muslims, it is the destination for the world’s largest pilgrimage, the haj. Under the Five Pillars of Islam, all Muslims who are able to are obliged to make their way to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Accordingly, around four million pilgrims – three times the number of permanent residents – visit the shrine each year. The magnificent buildings of the Al-Masjid al-Haram (right) can accommodate more than 800,000 worshippers.

Marrakesh in Morocco

Couched in the Atlas mountains, the city has at its core Djemaa el-Fna, candidate for the title of greatest show on earth: a square ringed by snake charmers (right), spice shops, juice sellers, storytellers and carpet vendors. Old quarter Souks in Aleppo (syria), Mutrah (oman) and San‘a (Yemen) Coffee pots and copper plates, tanning hides and bales of wool, plastic trays and mosque clocks pile the alleys of these noisy, gossip-fuelled centres of trade throughout the Islamic world.