British Orientalist Sir Richard Francis Burton disguised himself as a Pashtun Muslim to travel to Mecca and Medina in 1853. He was the second Orientalist to do so after Ludovico di Varthema in 1503. Burton was a soldier, diplomat, and polyglot who spoke 29 languages. His work, "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to el Medinah and Meccah," provided a detailed account of the Hajj, including measurements of the Kaaba which he drew on his clothing.

Burton was deeply affected by the devotion of the pilgrims. Beyond his travels, he is famous for translating "The Arabian Nights." He died in 1890 in Austria. After his death, his wife burned 40 years of his diaries and manuscripts. His accounts remain a primary source for Westerners studying the traditions and geography of the Hijaz in the 19th century.