Journey to Mecca (2009) - full transcript

Narrator: Once in their lives,

muslims are called upon to make
an extraordinary journey.

To perform a series of rites that
celebrate the prophet Abraham-

father to Jews, christians,
and muslims alike.

These rites are called the hajj.

For thousands of years,

pilgrims have risked their lives
to reach mecca.

Among them, a 14th-century
law student from Morocco

named ibn battuta.

Battuta: 3,000 miles...

Mecca is 3,000 miles
to the east.



Some say it is too far.

But I am determined
to make this journey

as so many have in the past,

and so many will
in ages to come.

Some will come by sea...

Others on the backs of beasts.

Many more will arrive by foot.

Long ago the prophet Abraham
was tested here,

and his family nearly died,

but their lives were saved.

In gratitude, Abraham built
the holy ka'bah-

the house of god.

Pilgrims tell me that
to reach the ka'bah

and stand before it



changes the heart.

I am ready now to leave
the safe shores of my home

to see with my eyes
what I have seen in my dreams.

Battuta: I flew on the wings
of a giant bird to Cairo...

Up the nile...

Then across the red sea
to mecca.

Hamza: You flew to mecca?
On the wings of a bird?

Battuta: Yes!

Hamza: People do not fly, my friend-
to mecca or anywhere else!

Why do you insist
on making the hajj now?

You are only 21 years old.

Think of what you are giving up.

Your law career
is just beginning.

Battuta: What I will learn
can only help my career.

Hamza: You insist
on traveling alone,

and no one travels alone!

Battuta: If I am to die,
let it be on the road to mecca!

Hamza: If you reach Cairo...

When you reach Cairo,
you must seek out ibn muzaffar.

He's a friend of our family.

He's a powerful and learned man.

Give him this letter.

He will help you.

And tell him of your dream.

See what he has to say.

Battuta: I will.

I promise.

On the day of my departure,

my father gives me a magnificent horse,
gold, and his blessing.

From my mother,
I receive the lhram-

two lengths of plain white cloth
I will wear in mecca.

Sister...

And then, as a bird
forsakes its nest,

I forsake my home and family,

not knowing if we will ever
see each other again.

I might have traveled
in the safety of a caravan...

Or the comfort
of a sailing ship-

but I have the tools to navigate
and find my own way.

The sun guides me by day,

and the stars are
my companions at night.

Travelers have told me
that danger lurks at every turn

on the roads to mecca.

But I believe those
braving the greatest risk

will receive
the greatest reward.

Whoa, whoa.

Shhh.

Tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk!

Highwayman: Pilgrim.

You may go.

Battuta: If I am to die,
let it be on the road to mecca.

Such boastful words
I spoke to my friend Hamza.

Highwayman: You will return now
to tangier?

Battuta: I will not return
until I reach mecca,

until I have performed the hajj.

Highwayman: Bandits lie in wait
along every road.

You will need protection.

Battuta: From you?
And your band of thieves?

Highwayman: I travel alone,
the same as yourself.

Battuta: You must take me
for a fool.

Highwayman: I make no judgments.

I simply offer you
my protection,

and you may pay me
upon safe arrival in Cairo.

Battuta: You have stolen my money!

Highwayman: I gave it to the poor.

Battuta: How would I pay you?

Highwayman:
You have rich friends in Cairo.

Battuta: I would rather die
here in the desert!

Highwayman: Peace be with you.

Tell me, what does a young man
such as yourself

expect to find in mecca?

Battuta: The hajj is a way
to see new lands.

To reach mecca
and see the holy ka'bah

is the greatest of all journeys.

Highwayman: And for this
you risk your life?

Battuta: It is written in the qu'ran,

"if god helps you
then no one can overcome you."

Highwayman: And “if he abandons you,
who can help you then?"

Much wisdom can be found
in the qu'ran.

We leave at daybreak.

Highwayman: Get the horses down!

Stay behind her!

Man 1: As-salamu alaykum.

Man 2: Alaykum salam.

Battuta: After many months
in the desert,

we finally reach the nile river.

It excels in the sweetness
of its taste

and the treasure
that lies at its end.

The mother of all cities,

peerless in its beauty
and bounty-

a marvel of learning
and charity: Cairo.

Muzaffar: Hamza writes me
of your dream.

Battuta: Yes.

I flew to mecca.

Muzaffar: On the wings
of a great bird?

Battuta: Is it a common dream?

Muzaffar: Tell me what you saw.

Battuta: I flew over deserts,

up a great river and
across a slender ribbon of sea.

Muzaffar: The red sea.

Did your dream end at mecca?

Battuta: No...

I continued on.

Muzaffar: You shall reach
your destination

if you heed the wisdom
of those around you.

The prophet Mohammad,
peace be upon him,

said "go in search of knowledge,

even if your journey
takes you to China."

Highwayman: Do you intend
to continue on to mecca

by way of the red sea?

Battuta: Yes.

Highwayman: And you have
decided on this route

because of your dream?

Battuta: Itis also
the shortest way.

Highwayman: The shortest, certainly-
not always the safest.

Battuta: I am behind in time.

Highwayman: War is being
waged on the red sea.

Battuta: Wars are always
being waged.

Highwayman:
And are wisely avoided.

Battuta: My mind is set.

Highwayman: Please understand.

You may not find
passage to mecca.

Battuta: A risk I must take.

Highwayman: A foolish risk!

Battuta: The hajj will not wait!

I will cross the red sea!

My mind is set!

Highwayman: I strongly advise
that you go by way of Damascus

and join the great hajj caravan.

Battuta: Our arrangement
was for your protection,

not your advice.

Highwayman: Indeed.

Battuta: I am no longer
your responsibility.

The warnings of war
do not deter me.

To travel by way of Damascus

would add 1,000 miles
to my journey.

I insist on the path of my dream-

across the Egyptian desert
to the red sea,

where I will sail
to the port of Jeddah.

From Jeddah,
mecca is only days away.

Forgive my foolishness.

Forgive my pride.

Allow me to reach mecca and
stand upon the mount of mercy.

Highwayman: Damascus?

Battuta: Damascus.

I had heard
the stories of pilgrims

receiving help and refuge
from strangers.

It is the Muslim way.

My pride, however,
had never allowed this for me.

And yet I find myself
in Damascus

able to continue on to mecca
because of a stranger.

Highwayman: Perhaps you could
offer it to the poor.

Battuta: Will you not come?

Highwayman: Someday.
God willing.

Battuta: Thank you, my friend.

My brother.

Highwayman: In 50 days
the caravan shall reach mecca.

Remember to pray
for a sinner's soul.

Battuta: My own soul, you mean?

Highwayman: Exactly.

Battuta: The great Damascus caravan
is a moving city of 10,000

with one purpose-

reach the holy cities of Medina
and then mecca.

There are architects,
physicians, poets,

and even beekeepers!

I could never have imagined
such a community of the road.

There is a place
through which we must pass

known as the valley of hell.

One year, this boiling basin
claimed thousands of lives.

This story is inscribed
on the rocks,

urging us to push on to Medina
without rest.

We have been 40 days
in the desert.

The caravan grows weak.

My body is ravaged with fever.

But I cannot give up.

I will not give up.

Horseman: I have seen Medina!
I have seen Medina!

Battuta: Medina.

Medina the radiant-
and within its walls, the tomb and mosque

of the prophet Mohammed,
peace be upon him.

I turn to the evening sky

and rejoice at the sight
of the new moon.

We must now reach mecca
in eight days

when the hajj will begin.

As we depart Medina,
I open the gift from my mother-

two lengths of pure white cloth,

and I'm reminded of their meaning:
We are all equal.

Our voices ring out over every hill
and through every valley

until we reach
the gates of mecca.

18 months ago,
I bade farewell to my family.

The 3,000 miles required of me
became 5,000.

Now I am but steps away
from what I have dreamt of,

what I have prayed towards all my life:
The holy ka'bah.

I kiss the ancient black stone,

the foundation stone laid
by the prophet Abraham.

Astronomers have observed
the circling of the planets

in the night sky.

We mirror the movement
of the heavens,

circling the ka'bah seven times.

We move in Harmony,
as if traveling back

to the beginning of time.

I feel myself becoming one
with those around me,

with those who have come before,
and all who will follow.

Before Abraham built the ka'bah,
mecca was a barren desert.

After the trials
he and his family endured here,

the desert was transformed
into a place of remembrance.

We remember the trials
of Abraham's wife, hagar,

by performing "the running."

For many days,
hagar was alone in the desert

with her infant son.

She began a desperate search
for water,

praying constantly while running
between two small hills.

We run the same path as hagar,

to honor her faith
and determination.

Her prayers were answered
with a miracle-

the appearance of a spring
we call the zamzam well.

Today we gratefully drink
the same life-giving water

that saved her child.

Pilgrims have come here
in caravans

from many faraway lands.

And yet clan and race
no longer divide.

Rich and poor prepare side by side
for the day of arafat.

In the morning
I join a great procession.

Like a river, it flows toward
the plain of arafat

and the mount of mercy.

It was on the mount of mercy

where the prophet Mohammad,
peace be upon him,

delivered his final sermon.

He called on us all to remember
the virtues of Abraham-

charity, friendship,
and forgiveness.

After sunset, we walk to a place
called muzdalifah,

where we gather the small stones
we will need tomorrow.

A pillar marks the place where
the devil appeared to Abraham

urging him to disobey
god's command.

Abraham resisted the devil
by stoning him.

We cast stones
to remind ourselves

that we, too,
can overcome temptation.

For his faith,
Abraham was rewarded

with the gift of a lamb,
which he sacrificed in gratitude.

Remembering the charity
of my friend

who guided me
through the desert,

I buy a flock of lambs
and offer them to the poor.

To celebrate a new beginning,
I cut off my hair.

Soon I will make my final circles
of the ka'bah...

And say farewell.

My hajj is complete.

My heart is full.

The tests of my journey have
humbled me and opened my eyes.

The caravans are leaving mecca.

Those traveling west
would take me home.

But the words
have remained with me-

"go in search of knowledge,
even if it takes you to China."

Narrator: Ibn battuta's
search for knowledge

took him to China, India,
and more than 40 other countries.

He would not return home
to Morocco for almost 30 years,

having traveled three times
further than Marco Polo.

His legacy is one of
the greatest journals of travel

ever recorded.

Today, a crater on the moon
is named in his honor.