Mir'âtü'l-Mecca [and] Mir'âtü'l-Haremayn.

A handsome set of this scarce history of the Haramayn and Hejaz, with two volumes dedicated to each of the holy cities, Mecca and Medina, and a fifth on the Arabian Peninsula at large.

Eyüp Sabri Paşa (1832-1890) was a Turkish naval officer and Government official who initially wrote a series of articles for a Turkish newspaper on the Hejaz region, and later expanded them to the present work which represents fifteen years of writing and research.

Over the course of the five volumes the history of the cities of Mecca and Medina are treated at length, describing the tribes, geography, and economies of the area. More than anything the work focusses on the religious developments of both cities as they relate to Arabia and the various nations they fell under control of including the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. The many plates include views of the Kaaba, the villages and towns around the area, and historical scenes such as the flood which occurred in 1630 which significantly damaged Mecca and the Kaaba itself.

Despite the author taking a notable anti-Wahhabi line as a result of his traditional Ottoman stance, the descriptions of the Hajj and advice for pilgrims are still highly important, and the work as a whole remains a key artefact for the history of the Haramayn and Saudi Arabia.

First editions; 2 works, 10 parts in 5 vols; 8vo (23 x 17 - 27 x 18 cm); in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic, in total 28 plates, of which 7 colour and mostly folding, 2 folding plans of Mecca and Medina, 17 in-text illustrations, 1 folding plate bisected and bound in two pieces, original parts titles bound in, discreet booksellers tickets to pastedowns, a few pages loose or frayed to edges; contemporary quarter red sheep, red cloth boards, the Medina and Arabia volumes with more elaborate gilt spines in five compartments with contrasting green lettering pieces, the Mecca volumes with simpler gilt lettering to the spines in five compartments, pencil numbering to lower board of Medina and Arabia volumes, a little worn around extremities, a very good set.