Janus-faced

Two nights before Eid al Adha, the day of Abraham's sacrifice, I find myself tired, a heap on the bed, and all I can do - I decide - is to listen to something interesting (even watching seems too much of an effort) and so I check out Radio 4's sample of afternoon plays and lo and behold, there is the story of how Richard Burton entered Mecca, and the Kabaa itself, disguised as an Afghan (echoes of course with Lawrence and the German guy feigning to visit Aaron's tomb when in fact he's searching for Petra) So along with the images and stories and news from Mecca coming from friends and family visiting Mecca at the moment for Hajj, I also get Joseph Fiennes' droning voice telling me why he's getting circumcized, then challenging the Arabs to quote as long a passage from the Koran and then as he enters the Kabaa, his sense of 'pure personal success'.