Author's Note:
Because of Pompey's review I have re-checked the exact date for the Hajj and the regulations concerning the Hajj.
According to the Ministry of Hajj of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Hajj usually takes place between the 8th and the 12th/13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic Calendar.
The variation in length depends on how you perform the Hajj, i.e. which rituals you perform.
I have not found any information that the Hajj must be performed during the above mentioned dates, but the Ministry of Hajj recommends that the Hajj should be performed during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, whereas the Umrah, or lesser pilgrimage, can be performed throughout the year.
Since most pilgrims travel to Mecca at the above mentioned date, I assumed that the date is compulsory.
I have therefore slightly edited Holmes's letter from Mecca.
Many thanks go to my beta reader, the incredible Bowen Cates
Letters Never Sent
Chapter 04: Mecca and Khartoum
Mecca, July 9th, 1893
My dear Watson,
I have finally left the secure mountains of Tibet and am on my way in a westward direction again.
After a short stay in Persia, where I handled some important business for brother mine, which I am under strict orders not to divulge to anyone, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Islam, another of the great world religions.
In Bushehr I watched as large groups of Muslim pilgrims boarded ships that would bring them to Mecca for the annual pilgrimage, the Hajj.
Partaking in this pilgrimage is an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim that can afford to do so.
The Hajj is associated with the life of the prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but is considered to stretch back to the time of Ibrahim, or as he is known in Christianity, Abraham.
It usually lasts from the 8th to the 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic Calendar, which is calculated by the lunar phases and it has 12 lunar months in a year of 354 days. Because this lunar year is 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days, though celebrated on fixed dates in their own calendar, usually shift 11 days earlier each solar successive year.
Therefore this year's Hajj took place from June 23rd until June 27th.(1)
Since only Muslims are allowed to enter Mecca and take part in the Hajj, I had to change my disguise from a Norwegian explorer to a Muslim pilgrim. After having applied some full body make up and the costume of a wandering salesman, I joined a group of the travellers from Bushehr.
During the long journey through the Persian Gulf, the Arabic Sea and then the Red Sea, I relied completely on my knowledge of the Arabic language.
Because of problems with the rudder the sailing ship reached the Arabic coast several days too late to be on time for the Hajj. My fellow travellers were naturally disappointed, for it is recommended that the Hajj is celebrated during the above mentioned date, but they were in agreement to proceed with their pilgrimage as planed.
Due to the lateness of the ship and because I had a scheduled meeting with one of my brother's agents in Cairo, I had to leave Mecca within two days of my arrival.
So I was only able to perform the Umrah, or lesser pilgrimage, which takes hours to perform instead of days.
The town of Mecca still showed some signs of the latest annual pilgrimage. Numerous camps made of white tents for the participating pilgrims covered the land on both sides of the main road that leads to the mosque containing the Kaaba.
Before one is allowed to perform the rites of the Umrah or Hajj, one has to be in a state of Ihram, which is a state of purity and holiness, the word is also used to denote the garment worn by the pilgrims that are in this state of holiness.
There are certain restrictions to be obeyed when one is in Ihram, like to keep one's head uncovered at all times, not to shave, cut one's hair or clip one's nails and various others.
First of all, we donned a garment made of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth, with the top draped over the torso and the bottom secured by a white sash, plus a pair of plain sandals. This uniform of clothing represents the equality of pilgrims before Allah.
The rituals of the Umrah re-enact scenes from the lives of Ibrahim and his wife Hajarah.
It is believed that Allah ordered the prophet Ibrahim to abandon his wife and his infant son, Ismail, in the desert. During his absence the child became thirsty and his mother ran back and forth seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah in search of water. The Angel Gabriel touched the earth with the tip of his wing and a well sprang forth, this source of water is called the Well of Zamzam; other sources say that Ismail himself stamped his foot on the ground and the water emerged, but I suppose that in any case, the end result was the same.
After we had all finished the required preparations, our group made its way to the mosque, where the Kaaba stands. The "House of God" is a black stone cube presumably built by Ibrahim, in whose direction every Muslim carries out his daily sets of prayers.
In order to fulfil the first ritual of Umrah, we had to circle the Kaaba seven times in a counter-clockwise direction. Because of the still high number of participants this ceremony took about a quarter of an hour to complete. I was surprised that the rather slow pace had no effect on the utter rapture I could observe on the faces of my fellow pilgrims, whose sparkling eyes and upward curled lips bespoke of their feelings. All of them were quite in awe of being so close to the holiest place in their religion and I must admit that I myself felt as if we shared a special bond which had been created by this singular experience.
After leaving the mosque, the members of our large group could scatter a bit while rapidly walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, thereby re-enacting Hajarah's frantic search for water in order to save her son from dying of thirst.
This ritual is known as performing a "sa'i".
The last part of the Umrah consists of either a complete shave of the head or a partial shortening of hair. Since I cannot afford to change my outer appearance too drastically I opted for the latter and thankfully I was not the only one who did, otherwise I might have drawn attention to myself.
After the conclusion of Umrah, most of my fellow pilgrims chose to drink from the Well of Zamzam, which was revealed to Hajarah by the Angel Gabriel and saved her infant son's life.
Today the Well of Zamzam is housed within the court of the mosque in Mecca, right beside the Kaaba.
After the completion of this last ritual, I am now preparing to leave Mecca for Egypt.
I shall remember this experience for the rest of my life, for it showed me not only the power of religious belief, but also that it is indeed possible for people from different backgrounds to assemble peacefully and with dignity in sharing this important aspect of their lives.
It also provided me with the opportunity to acquaint myself again with a large crowd after spending two years in almost solitude during my stay in Tibet.
I am indeed glad to be on the move again for it provides my ever-working brain with enough stimulants to hold my interest.
I do not know as of yet where I will be heading to next, but I hope to be able to write to you again soon.
Yours most sincerely,
Sherlock Holmes
I laid the letter on the bedside table and looked over at my friend who was sleeping peacefully, his usually animated features completely relaxed. Carefully I removed the compress and instead laid my hand on his forehead. I found the skin to be cooler than earlier but still too warm as to be normal.
Therefore I replaced my hand with a compress and proceeded to check his other vital signs. His pulse was strong and regular beneath my fingertips and his breathing caused his chest to rise and fall rhythmically. Another look at the wound revealed only the clean teeth marks which I yet again treated with disinfectant causing my friend to stir slightly because of the antiseptic's stinging nature before re-dressing the arm. I was fairly certain that Holmes would not suffer any ill effects from the supposedly rabid dog's attack or the following treatment.
All the while I tried to imagine Holmes as a Muslim pilgrim in the midst of the crowds in Mecca, clad only in two pieces of plain fabric, praying along with all the other worshippers.
I knew from first hand experience my friend's skill at disguising himself so as to be completely unrecognizable from his usual appearance and I was fairly certain that he had been diligently preparing his role as a pilgrim.
With my curiosity fuelled by the contents of the letters I had already read, I reached impatiently for the next missive.
Khartoum, August 8th, 1893
My dear Watson,
After crossing the Red Sea and a short stay in Egypt where new instructions from my brother awaited me, my travels finally led me into the biggest land of the African Continent.
I am sure you are aware of the current unstable situation in Sudan and thus the preparations that are undertaken by the British Empire, among other European countries, to re-establish its control over this vast land which has fallen under the reign of the Mahdi back in 1885.
I am afraid due to the highly secret nature of my mission I cannot divulge any details about my actions as of yet.
Perhaps in a few years time, when my pledge of secrecy has become irrelevant, I may give you a full account of my doings.
But there is one experience I wish to share with you, if only to put it into words and thereby hopefully unburden my mind of the images my torturous imagination has been conjuring up, no matter how emphatically my attempts to suppress them are.
When I entered the Palace in order to meet with the Khalifa, who is the Mahdi's successor, I had not the slightest inkling that I would set my eyes on the remaining traces of General Gordon's ghastly murder that had happened more than eight years previously. I was genuinely taken aback to still find his dried blood on the stairs where he had met his end. It is one thing to read about the event, but to actually see the very spot where the abominable deed had taken place sent shivers down my spine and my mind into a rampage of creating the most vivid images. I was obliged to redirect my thoughts in order to be able to fulfil the task I had been given.
I know of your high regard for the general and I hope my account does not cause you any additional distress for I remember with clarity the strength of your reaction to the news of his death and the subsequent events.
I hold some hope that as soon as my business here is finished I may consider my return to Europe for I must admit that after more than two years I start to grow weary of these seemingly endless travels. On the other hand, Mycroft tells me that Colonel Moran is still at large and has now settled down in London, so that I fear my return to you must wait until I am able to ensure his arrest.
Yours sincerely,
Sherlock Holmes
Slowly I let the letter sink down onto my lap while my gaze was drawn once more to the still face of my sleeping friend, my chest slowly constricting with a feeling of sympathy for nightmares had been a constant companion to both of us since the beginning of our acquaintance.
I wondered if the portrait of General Gordon that hung in our shared sitting room acted as a constant reminder for Holmes of experiences he would rather forget.
The striking of the clock on the landing jolted me out of my musings. I consulted my watch; it was two o'clock in the morning. The city outside our lodgings was quiet, safe but for the occasional footsteps of the police constable in the street.
I removed the compress from Holmes's forehead and re-checked his temperature. It was still slightly elevated, but in not such an extreme as to cause concern. After discarding the used water from the basin and leaving the moist washcloth on the rack to dry, I sat down again and took the second to last letter from the file.
(1) Date conversion via http://www(dot)oriold(dot)uzh(dot)ch/static/hegira(dot)html