Masjid al-Haram and the Kaaba

The Kaaba, Ka’bah or Kabah is what Muslims are looking to when they face towards Mecca, and the Masjid al-Haram (‘The Sacred Mosque’) mosque was built around it allowing pilgrims and worshippers a place to pray.

Physically the Kaaba is a cube of black granite around 13 metres tall, raised on a marble plinth and covered in a black silk curtain decorated with text stitched in gold. Inside it has a marble floor and walls and carved tablets. There are several origins stories for the Kaaba, but the nicest one suggests it was the central marker for a 20 mile combat embargo zone in times of ancient tribal strife and it gained significance as a religious sanctuary and market.

The Masjid al-Haram is the world’s largest, and one of the three main Islamic pilgrimage sites, capable of fitting four million worshippers in both its indoor and courtyard prayer spaces.

Supposedly this mosque was first built by angels but has been rebuilt subsequently by humans, the first person to do so being Adam. The earliest parts of the current building date from around 1570, but most of the beautiful open courtyards, minarets and detailed mosaics date from the 1620’s.