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A TRAVELOGUE OF THEHIJAZHEJAZ by Zafar-ul-Mulk Alavi
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Zafar-ul-Mulk must be included amongst the many famous sons of the small town of Kakori in DistrictLuckhnow of India'sLukhnau(generally known by its Anglicised version, Luck now) of India's largest state, theformer United Provinces (now Uttar Pardesh).Named Zafar-ul-Mulk.Hailing from a well-known family of Islamic scholars, his father, MunshiHimayat Ali Alvi, was one of the most eminent citizens of the town. Named Ishaq Ali Alvi byhis parents, the man gained fame in literary and journalistic worlds under the
nom de plume
Zafar-ul-Mulk.After early schooling in Urdu, Arabic and Persian at home, he was sent to the JubileeSchool inLuckhnowLucknowfor anEnglish education. Completing his studies, Zafar-ul-Mulk   began what was an interesting life that wascertainlyfar from the ordinary.He turned his attention to business, worked in the Post and Telegraph Department, and then left on overseastravelswhich also tookthat sawhimtovisit, among other lands,China, Japan and Hong Kong. Howsoever unusual as this escapade may have been, especially for the times, it did not proveinterestingexciting enoughto him and he returned home.After a short stay at Kakori, Zafar-ul-Mulk left for Hyderabad Deccan. There he cameacross and benefited from the company of literary giants personslike Abdul Haleem Sharar,Zafar Ali Khan and Mir Mahfooz Ali Khan Badayuni. who being literary giants enjoyed nationaleminence not only in their own times but continue to hold their importance to this day.And itwas here that he began his literary and intellectual career. From Hyderabad he moved to Patna,Bihar to take up the editorship of a newspaper. In 1909 he returned toLuckhnowLucknowand began the monthly
 An Nazir 
. He set up the An Nazir Press which also began publishing bookson various subjects.In addition to his journalistic and scholastic activities, Zafar-ul-Mulk soon began toindulge, albeitlightlyindulge,in politics as well. In 1916 when both the Muslim League and Indian National Congress held their annual conferences inLuckhnow,Lucknow,Zafar-ul-Mulk  participated in these as a member of the League's Council. When in 1920, Gandhi, incooperation with the Ali Brothers, launched the Non-Cooperation Movement Zafar-ul-Mulk  became the first person to be arrested by the authorities in this connection fromLucknow.Lucknow. He thus displayed exemplary non-partisan patriotism.In 1946 Zafar-ul-Mulk was in Sultanpur participating in a conference of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind. 
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 It was here that he passed away into eternity. He was laid to rest in hisancestral graveyard in Kakori.(((translated/adaptedfrom "The Literary and Journalistic Services of Zafar-ul-Mulk” by Dr. AkhlaqHusainHusain Arif in
 Acadami
,Luckhnow,Lucknow,March - June 1990)
1
 
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE
This travelogue is one of the few very accurate records of international travel in theUrdu language from the early 20
th
century. It not only provides a very interesting reading for modern readers of hajjhajj and travel literature but is also a remarkably detailed historicalrecordwhich wouldthat mustsurely beaninvaluabletoresource for all researchers on the subjects of travel in andsocial-history, travel – particularlyhajj-travel – and other aspectsof  early 20
th
century Arabia.Present day hajj pilgrims, who make the jet-trip to theHijazHejazfrom the South Asiansubcontinent in as few as four hours and then travel on a super-highway between the
 Hara’man Shari fanHaraman Sharifan
(the two HolyMosquesin Makkah and Madinah)in equal time, would find it very difficult to imagine that only75about 85years ago the seavoyage toHijazHejaztook a month and the 400kilometre-tripkilometre-tripbetween Makkah and Madinah was a three week camel-ride. That was also the time when there were no stops athi-tech service stations for partaking soft drinks and victuals. Instead, even clear potable water was difficult to obtain. The Bedouin tribes along the route had to be paid their "free-passage"fee (a euphemism for protection-money)whichthatwas equal to the amount of the steamer-farefrom India.The work is further distinguished by the fact that it comes from the pen of a professional Urdu journalist, one of the very few of their kinda breed that was rarein the early1920's. To this Zafar-ul-Mulk added adeeply religious personality,anattributeof only truly  practicing Muslimswithout which a hajj travelogue cannot be appropriately written- a deeplyreligious personality.Some of the more senior persons amongst us may have heard stories similar to theexperiences related in this book -from parents or grand-parents about their trips to theHijazHejazmade several decades ago-,but it isveryunlikely that there are any living persons who could have beenZafar-ul-Mulk’scontemporariesof Zafar-ul-Mulk..Moreover, oral accounts are always susceptible to the natural wear and tear of the memory process. and thustheir credibility can erode over time. In any case, so great has been the transformation that fewwill believe the stories of hajis of the early 20
th
century. Thus, the precise recordwhichthat Zafar-ul-Mulk faithfully inscribed for posterity comprisesa very important document detailingthe romance of life in the really slow-lane of rickety steamers and camel caravans to the HolyLand that existed well intothisthe 20
th
 century. Truth, it seems, is sometimes very time bound.Zafar-ul-Mulk and his age are gone forever. Few, if any of us, would ever have the timeor the inclination to travel to theHijazHejazon camel back -and then write about it.
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SUMMARY OF THE JOURNEY OF ZAFAR UL MULK ALVI, 1923
Trip DayDate, Day & TimePlaceRemarks/Details
00116
th
Apr. 10 p.m. Mond. Luckhnow charbaghd.Lucknow Charbagh00217
th
Apr., Tue,
 Fajr 
Jhansi stationChange trains002-do-, 2 p.m.Bhopal station00318
th
Apr., Wed 9 a.m.,a. Bombay00621
st
Apr., Sat.depositedDepositluggage onship00722
nd
Apr., Sun.d. Bombay01227
th
Apr., Fria. Karachi01328
th
Apr., Satd. Karachi0194
th
May, Fri., 10 p.m.a. Aden0205
th
May, Sat. ,10 a.m.d. Aden0216
th
May, Sun. , 10 a.m.a. Kamran islandQuarantine station0227
th
May, Mon.d. Kamran0249
th
May, Wed.a. Jeddah portQuarantine02510
th
May,Thu.a. Jeddah town02611
th
May, Fri., eveningd. JeddahOn donkey back 02712
th
May, Sat.,
 Fajr 
.a. Makkah04025
th
May/10
th
Shawwal, Fri.d. MakkahCaravan assemblystopatShuhada04126
th
May, Sat.,
Maghrib
d. Shuhada04227
th
May, Sun.,
 Fajr 
a. Vadi Fatima04328
th
May, Mon., early mornd. Vadi Fatima04429
th
May, Tue., 3 a.m.a. Itfan5 qurush paid as protectionmoney-do- after 
 Zuher 
d. Itfan-do - c. midnighta. Duf 04530 May, Wed., eveningd. Duf - do – 
 
 Isha
a. Khazima5 qurush paid as protectionmoney04631
st
May, Thu., earlyd. Khazima0471
st
June, Fri., mid-daya. Rabigh0482
nd
June, Sat., sunrised. Rabigh-do-,
 Isha
a. Masturah0493
rd
June, Sun.d. Masturah0504
th
June, Mon,
 Fajr 
a. Bir Shaikh-do-,
 Asr 
d. Bir Shaikh0515
th
June, Tue. midnighta. Bir Hasani2 majeedisper/frame paid as  protection 0526
th
June, Wed.
 Zuher 
d. Bir Hasani0537
th
June, Thu. midnighta. Shafiya- do - after 
 Asr 
d. Shafiya5 ½ majeedis to the Oofi tribe0548
th
June, Fri. after 
 Zuher 
d. ShafiyaTurned back earlier; 2 majeedisto Aeeri tribe- do – 
 Isha
a. Tarah05913
th
June Wed.
 Zuher 
d. Tarah15 majeedis paid; 13 toAhemdis 1toZahrawi
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