Motivated by his love of adventure, Burton got the approval of the Royal Geographical Society for an exploration of the Middle East. His seven years in India gave Burton a familiarity with the customs and behaviour of Muslims and prepared him to attempt a Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca and, in this case, Medina). It was this journey, undertaken in 1853, which first made Burton famous. He had planned it whilst traveling disguised among the Muslims of Sindh, and had laboriously prepared for the adventure by study and practice (including undergoing the Muslim tradition of circumcision to further lower the risk of being discovered). Although Burton was certainly not the first non-Muslim European to make the Hajj, his pilgrimage is the most famous and the best documented of the time
