Amazing Place

The Ka’bah, Mecca

The Kaaba or Ka'aba (Arabic: الكعبة‎‎ al-Kaʿbah), also known as the Sacred House (بيت الحرام‎Baytu l-Ḥarām) and the Ancient House (البيت العتيق‎ Baytu l-'Atīq), is a cuboid building at the centre of Islam's most sacredmosque, Al-Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred point within this most sacred mosque, making it the most sacred location in Islam. Wherever they are in the world, Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba – i.e. when outside Mecca, to face toward Mecca – when performing salat (prayers). The Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque was built around the Kaaba. From any point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the Qibla.

As long as they are able to do so, one of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to make Tawaf, the circumambulation seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. This circumambulation is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). 

However, the most interesting times are during the Hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day. In 2013, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj was officially reported as 1,100,544.

The Kaaba is a cuboid structure which is made of granite quarried from nearby hills. Standing upon a 250 cm (98 in) marble base that projects outwards about 35 cm (14 in),[1] it is approximately 13.1 m (43 ft) high, with sides measuring 11.03 m (36.2 ft) by 12.86 m (42.2 ft).[6][7] Inside the Kaaba, the floor is made of marble and limestone. The interior walls are clad with marble halfway to the roof. The marble is inset with Qur'anic inscriptions.

The wall directly adjacent to the entrance of the Kaaba has six tablets inlaid with inscriptions. The top part of the walls are covered with a green cloth embroidered with gold Qur'anic verses. Caretakers anoint the marble cladding with scented oil used on the Black Stone outside. Three pillars stand inside the Kaaba, with a small altar set between one and the other two. Lamp-like objects (possible crucible censers) hang by a rope above the platform. An enclosed staircase leads to the roof.