King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) is organizing the “History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques” Forum, in cooperation with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Pilgrim Experience Program, from 10 to 12 November, on the sidelines of the fifth edition of the Hajj Conference and Exhibition held at the Super Dome in Jeddah.
The forum aims to highlight the Kingdom’s historical and organizational efforts in serving the Two Holy Mosques, document the architectural and artistic transformations witnessed by the holy sites, and employ the latest methods to study the history of Hajj through digital media, while supporting specialized scholarly research in this field. It also seeks to translate its outputs into educational and media content, showcasing the historical evolution of the Hajj journey across the Islamic world.
Over three days, the forum will feature more than 10 specialized panel sessions with over 50 speakers, including leading historians, researchers, and experts in history, architecture, culture, media, and digital technologies. In doing so, it constitutes a distinctive scholarly and cultural event that documents the Hajj rite through a modern, comprehensive lens.
The forum’s proceedings will address five themes, including the organization of Hajj and Umrah and serving the Guests of Allah; the development of crowd management, transport, and healthcare; and digital transformation in documentation and guidance. It will also examine what historical chronicles and travellers’ writings recorded about Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques, review architectural styles associated with the Two Holy Mosques and visual identity in manuscripts and historical maps, and explore the presence of Hajj in cultural and literary memory alongside the role of modern technologies and artificial intelligence in historical documentation.
An accompanying exhibition titled “A Century of Care for the Two Holy Mosques” will be held on the sidelines of the forum, documenting the history of Hajj over a hundred years through original, rare documents, historical photographs, manuscripts, artifacts, and tools used by pilgrims, in addition to digital media and modern display technologies.
Notably, the King Abdulaziz Foundation is organizing the forum within the framework of the History of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques project, in line with its mission to preserve and document the history of the Kingdom and the Two Holy Mosques. The forum serves as a national and global platform for documenting the Hajj rite and enhancing the Kingdom’s civilizational image, in step with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives in culture and tourism, through interactive scholarly and digital content that highlights the historical depth of Hajj and the Two Holy Mosques.
