From Desert of Pharan
In 2013, Ahmed was given permission by the Saudi Arabian government to film the holy city of Mecca, the grand mosque Al Masjid al-Haram, which houses the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, and its environs.
Over the course of the past decade, Mecca has undergone an unprecedented urban transformation, with massive extensions of the mosque and mass gentrification of historic areas of the city. This is due in part to the increasing number of people performing the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage. In this scene, pilgrims perform the ritual of 'Stoning the Devil' at the Jamarat.
The murmur of crowds and the continuous rhythm of pebbles striking a wall gently draw us into Mecca, one of the most restricted yet highly visited cities in the world. At several different points during the hajj, pilgrims perform this stone-throwing ritual, symbolizing stoning the devil and the casting away of temptations.