Journey to Mecca tells the story of Ibn Battuta (played by Chems Eddine Zinoun), a young scholar who leaves Tangier in 1325 on an epic and perilous journey, traveling alone from his home in Morocco to reach Mecca, some 3,000 miles to the east.
Ibn Battuta is besieged by countless obstacles as he makes his way across the North African desert to Mecca. Along the route he meets an unlikely stranger, the Highwayman (played by Hassam Ghancy) who becomes his paid protector and eventual friend. During his travels he is attacked by bandits, dehydrated by thirst, rescued by Bedouins, and forced to retrace his route by a war-locked Red Sea.

Ibn Battuta finally joins the legendary Damascus Caravan with thousands of pilgrims bound for Mecca for the final leg of what would become his 5,000 mile, 18 month long journey to Mecca.

When he arrives in Mecca, he is a man transformed. We then experience the Hajj as he did over 700 years ago, and, in recognition of its timelessness, we dissolve to the Hajj as it is still performed today, by millions of pilgrims, in some of the most extraordinary and moving IMAX® footage ever presented.

Ibn Battuta would not return home for almost 30 years, reaching over 40 countries and revisiting Mecca five more times to perform the Hajj. He would travel three times farther then Marco Polo. His legacy is one of the greatest travel journals ever recorded. A crater on the moon is named in his honour.



A BIOPIC
Ibn Battuta, the famed 14th century Moroccan traveler, set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on an epic journey to Mecca, the historical and cultural center of Islam. By the time he returned 29 years later, he had traveled the world from West Africa, Spain and India to China and the Maldives, covering some 75,000 miles and three times further than Marco Polo. At the instigation of the Sultan of Morocco, Ibn Battuta dictated his reminiscences, which became one of the world's most famous travel books, The Rihla.
Journey to Mecca is an IMAX® dramatic and documentary feature, filmed in Saudi Arabia and Morocco in both English and Arabic, with background Berber. The film tells the amazing story of Ibn Battuta, the greatest explorer of the Old World, following his first pilgrimage between 1325 and 1326 from Tangier to Mecca. His perilous journey resonates with adventure while presenting an unforgettable picture of Islamic civilization during the 14th century, culminating with Battuta's first Hajj. The story is book-ended by a close-up look at the contemporary Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca that draws three million Muslims from around the world every year who perform rituals that have taken place for over 1,400 years.

IMAX® films can take people to places they would otherwise never go, from Mt. Everest to the deep sea to outer space. The Hajj, the longest running congregation of humans annually on planet earth, is definitely a unique experience for the medium. For non- Muslims it is the closest they will ever come to witnessing this extraordinary event, and for Muslims it takes on an even deeper significance.

Cast:
Ibn Battuta: Chems Eddine Zinoun
The Highwayman: Hassam Ghancy
Ibn Muzaffar: Nadim Sawalha
Hamza: Nabil Elouahabi
Ben Kingsley (Narration)


Crew
Director/Co-Screenwriter: Bruce Neibaur
Executive Producer: Jake Eberts
Producer: Jonathan Barker
Producer: Dominic Cunningham-Reid
Producer: Taran Davies
Co-Producer: Dima Alansari
Co-Producer: Dounia Benjelloun
Co-Producer: Al-Zain Al-Sabah
Screenwriter: Tahir Shah
Screenwriter: Carl Knutson
Supervising: Producer Diane Roberts
Supervising: Producer Tony Thatcher
Line Producer: Daniel Ferguson
Director Of Photography: Matthew Williams
Production Designer: Mike Fowlie
Art Director: Philip Murphy
Editor: Jean-Marie Drot
Costume Designer: Emma Bellocq
Location Director - Mecca: Abdul Latif Salazar
Director Of Photography - Mecca: Afshin Javadi
Director Of Photography - Mecca: Ghasem Ebrahimian
Director of Photography - Mecca: Rafey Mahmood


Available on DVD and Blu-Ray
Studio: Vivendi Entertainment
DVD Release Date: May 10, 2011

World Premiere in Abu Dhabi on January 7th, 2009 presented on the largest outdoor film screen ever assembled (70' by 100').
The film was showcased to over 6,500 people on a specially built IMAX® outdoor screen at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.

An SK Films release in association with National Geographic of a Cosmic Picture film, produced by Cosmic Picture and SK Films.

© SK Films, 2008