Saudi Photographer Abdulrahman Al-Sahli Wants to Capture Makkah's Hear

Light in Makkah is like nothing in any other part of the world; it cuts through the streets like no other penetrating stone that has known the tread of countless feet over many years. In an ancient neighbourhood, this is where Abdulrahman Al-Sahli recalls taking the picture that would alter his life forever where light was filtering down between the buildings into the mundane world of men and women going about their daily business. “I felt that Makkah gives you artistic gifts when you contemplate her simplicity," he tells SceneNowSaudi. "This was the moment when I understood that my photographs were love letters to this city."

Al-Sahli is a photographer whose career is defined mostly by Makkah and its denizens. Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, he has spent many years focusing his camera lens on what is the most visited city in the world and developed an oeuvre influenced by decades spent close to an enigmatic metropolis.

"The city chooses whom to give its face to," he explains. "And I received this divine calling early in my life."

Heartmecca is the handle name that he gave himself on Instagram. "Makkah is at the heart of the world and in mine too," he elaborates. "One cannot create a perfect photograph through mere technical settings. The art comes once a photo goes through your heart before reaching your audience. This is the pact that I made with myself in order to convey Makkah's beat, not her features."

Al Sahli's entire approach rests upon waiting so he does not influence the shot in any way – he neither directs nor stages the scene but waits until a moment arises and then catches it. "I do not consider Makkah a set or a backdrop," he claims. "Her beauty lies in spontaneity. Being the friend of waiting is important to me. I wait for the right time, the right light, or even the glimmer of an eye. Any interference spoils the purity and integrity of the moment."

His practice has also been greatly shaped by Mecca's unique light. "Makkah's sunlight is quite strong and creates a distinct atmosphere for the city," he remarks. "It lends the dramatic qualities to her terrain that make Makkah’s mountains truly unique. Heat is not an obstacle for photographing but part of the place's essence, reflected in the people's faces and the shine of streets, allowing a picture to tell its story."

While many photographers who focus on the holy places tend to chase the spectacular during the Hajj and the Ka'bah from above, Al Sahli focuses on the daily life. "I document the feeling before the event," he notes. His work falls between documentary and contemplation, although in his opinion Mecca itself is already a poetic composition. "In Arafat, the flatland outside Makkah city, where the faithful gather on the ninth day of the Dhul Hijjah month, I capture the moment of cosmic importance when a person blends into the crowd. It is the artist's job to convey through the lens the solemn silence during that Great Standing Place so the message reaches those who had no chance to experience it for themselves." Sometimes, AlSahli lowers his camera intentionally, eye-capturing moments meant to be kept within memory and consciousness. "Out of respect to Makkah's spiritual atmosphere and privacy of her citizens and guests," he states.

Makkah, however, has also given him much inspiration thanks to its special nature as a place. During Ramadan, people of all nationalities and backgrounds break their fast in the old neighbourhood together, and this is where Al-Sahli's feelings come to the fore. "Peoples of the earth stand on one pavement and one table, waiting for the call to prayer," he shares. "By photographing such scenes and documenting Makkans' generosity and the relationship with them of their visitors, I learn that there is but one language for people: that of compassion and hospitality, which I constantly seek to immortalize in my pictures."

Xposure 2025, international photography festival held in Sharjah that brought together more than 400 photographers from different parts of the world, saw the presentation of his collection of pilgrimage photos among works of famous photojournalists, such as James Nachtwey and Don McCullin. "In Makkah, regardless of how successful, rich or important you are in your life, this is the place that makes you bow to the ground," Al-Sahli explains.

What he wishes his audience takes from his works is the feeling rather than information. "It is to let them feel like they belong, have their hearts overflow with nostalgia for Makkah," he says. "I wish that whoever sees my photos, regardless of whether they ever saw Makkah, could sense serenity and calmness and understand that Makkah is the city of peace embracing everyone."