You South Africa – 08 August 2019

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T

HEGreatMosqueofMecca

(al-Masjidal-HaraminArabic),

istheworld’slargestIslamic

placeofworship.It’sbuiltto

surroundIslam’smostsacred

site,theKaaba. WhenMuslimspray,

whereverintheworldtheyare,they

kneelfacingthedirectionoftheKaaba.

Oneofthepillars(beliefs)ofIslamis the

hajj:everyadultMuslimwho’shealthy,has

enoughmoneyandwhosefamilywillbe

takencareofintheirabsencemusttrav-

el toMeccaatleastonceintheirlifetime.

THE MOSQUE OF MOSQUES

In part 2 of our series on holy sites, we visit The Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

It’s Islam’s most sacred place COMPILED BY ROSS MICHAELS INFOGRAPHIC: MICHAEL DE LUCCHI

On^11 September

2015

atleast^111

pilgrims

diedand^394

were

injuredwhen

acrane

toppledover

andfell

onthemosque.

NOW

YOUKNOW

THEORIGINSOFTHEGREATMOSQUE

MuslimsbelievethatthearchangelJibreel

(Gabriel)showedtheprophetIbrahim(Abra-

ham)andhissonIshmaelthespottorebuilda

previousshrineconstructedbythefirsthuman

being,Adam,ofwhichonlythefoundations

stillexisted.It’sbelievedIbrahimandIshmael

startedbuildingtheKaaba(“cube”)– a simple

unroofed,rectangularstructure– inabout

2130 BC.MuslimsbelievetheKaabaisa replica

ofanddirectlybelowthehouseofAllahinheav-

enwhichisconstantlycircledbyangels.

Atfirsttheplaceofworshipwasjusta small

openareasurroundingtheKaaba.Overthecen-

turiesafterIbrahim’sdeath,localpeoplefilled

theKaabawith 360 statuestheyworshippedas

gods.WhentheprophetMuhammadconquered

Meccain 630 hesmashedthestatuesandre-

turnedtheKaabatotheworshipofAllah.

Themosqueitselfwasbuiltandexpanded

overthecenturiessincethenandhasbeen

restored several times.

WHOCANVISITMECCA?

MeccaisaccessibleonlytoMuslims.This

includesthejournalistswhoreportonthean-

nualhajj.

Thenumber

oflevelsof

themosque:a

groundandfirst

flooranda roof

level.

Howlongittakesto

cleantheentiremosque.Morethan2 000

cleanersworkinshiftsaroundtheclock.

45 MINUTES

The number of pilgrims

whovisitedMeccaduringthe2018 hajj.

2,4 MILLION

Howmanypeople

theGreatMosque

canaccommodate

simultaneously.

1,5 MILLION

3

IN NUMBERS

Each minaret is

90m tall.

MINARET

This is a tower built into or near most

mosques. The name is derived from

the Arabic word manara, which means

“giving off light”. The minaret is usually

surrounded by a projecting gallery

from which a mosque official (muez-

zin) chants the call to prayer. In mod-

ern times, recordings are often used.

Over the years the Great Mosque

has undergone various renovations

and expansions. It now has 11 minarets.

HOLY SITES:

PA RT

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