Mecca, the Pilgrims' Way now made safe by the Arabs (The Graphic, 1 July 1916)
Full page from a London illustrated weekly, five days after Sharif Hussein's revolt: a bird's-eye map of Arabia with arrows converging on Mecca, under the headline 'Now made safe by the Arabs'. The tell is the boxed text, which rests the page's claim on a quoted Muslim authority, the Aga Khan, whose pronouncement that Turkey had lost her position as 'trustee to Islam' is offered as the verdict on the revolt.
- Date
- July 1, 1916
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- The Graphic (London illustrated weekly); map by G. F. Morrell
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Newspaper pages
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Asquith Government
- Leader
- Herbert Henry Asquith
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Event
- Arab Revolt
- Techniques
- Testimonial
- Regime
- Asquith government
- Leader
- H. H. Asquith
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons (scan of The Graphic, 1 July 1916, via The Map House), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (UK periodical, 1 July 1916, before 1931); Commons tags PD / PDM 1.0
The Graphic, London, 1 July 1916 (map by G. F. Morrell), scan from The Map House via Wikimedia Commons
Text on the object
THE GRAPHIC, JULY 1, 1916 MECCA THE PILGRIMS' WAY NOW MADE SAFE by the ARABS [map labels, selected] AUSTRIA-HUNGARY; RUSSIAN EMPIRE; BLACK SEA; TURKISH EMPIRE; PERSIA; Russian Sphere; British Sphere; Area Occupied by the British; Area Occupied by the Russians; Jerusalem; Damascus; Aleppo; Beirut; BAGHDAD; BASRA; MEDINA; JIDDAH; MECCA; Taif; ARABIA; AREA IN REVOLT; RED SEA the Great Commercial Route to the East; Pilgrim Route from Persia; Pilgrim Route from India; ADEN (BRITISH); Coast under British Protection; Hodeida; Sana; Riyadh (BRITISH); Koweit (British); Bahrein (British); Maskat; Independent; INDIA; AFGHANISTAN; EGYPT (BRITISH); Karachi; Bombay G.F. MORRELL Strictly copyright.] [Design registered. "Now that Turkey has so disastrously shown herself a tool in German hands, she has not only ruined herself, but has lost her position of trustee to Islam, and evil will overtake her. She has been persuaded to draw the sword in an unholy cause, and she will lose her position as a great nation," said the Aga Khan at the beginning of the war, in his message to Moslems in India and throughout the Empire, and the fulfilment of his prophecy is seen in the revolt of the Grand Shereef of Mecca, which deals a fatal blow at Turkish prestige in Asia. The constant streams of pilgrims who wend their way to Mecca and Medina from every point of the compass come mainly from countries subject to Great Britain or her Allies, and much good was accomplished by the assurances given by France, Russia and ourselves—in the autumn of 1914—that the Holy Places of Arabia would be respected by the Allies. Supported by the Arab tribes of West and Central Arabia, the Shereef of Mecca has proclaimed Arab independence of Turkey and of Ottoman rule. Mecca, Jiddah and Taif have all been captured, Medina is invested, and the Hedjaz railway has been destroyed for 100 miles.
Read from the 1117 x 1600 px image. Masthead, headline, the signature and the full boxed text are verbatim; the many place-name labels on the map are only sampled (marked 'selected') and some small labels were not legible enough to list. A few letters in the boxed text are damaged by the scan but the reading is unambiguous.
