Drum – 08 August 2019

T

HEGreatMosqueof Mecca

(al-Masjidal-HaraminArabic),

istheworld’slargestIslamic

placeofworship.It surrounds

Islam’smostsacredsite,the

Kaaba. WhenMuslimspraytheykneel

facingthedirectionoftheKaaba.Oneof

thepillars(beliefs)ofIslamistheHajj–

everyadultMuslimwho’shealthy,has

enoughmoney,andwhosefamilywillbe

takencareofintheirabsence,musttrav-

el toMeccaatleastonceintheirlifetime.

THE MOSQUE OF MOSQUES

In part 2 of our series on holy places, we visit the Great Mosque of 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

werekilled

and^394

injuredwhen

acrane

toppledover

andfellon

themosque.

NOWYOU

KNOW

THEORIGINSOFTHEGREATMOSQUE

MuslimsbelievethatthearchangelJibreel

(Gabriel)showedtheprophetIbrahim (Abra-

ham)andhissonIshmaelthespot on whichto

rebuilda previousshrinethathad been con-

structedby thefirsthumanbeing, Adam, and

ofwhichonlythefoundationsstill existed. It’s

believedIbrahimandIshmaelstarted building

theKaaba(“cube”)– a simpleunroofed, rectan-

gularstructure– inabout 2130 BC. Muslimsbe-

lievetheKaabaisa replicaofand directly below

thehouseofAllahinheaventhat’s constantly

circledbyangels.

Atfirsttheplaceofworshipwas just a small,

openareasurroundingtheKaaba. After Ibra-

him’sdeath,localpeopleoverthecenturies filled

theKaabawith 360 statuesthey worshippedas

gods.WhentheprophetMuhammad conquered

Meccain 630 hesmashedthestatues and re-

turnedtheKaabatotheworshipof Allah.

Themosqueitselfwasbuiltand expanded

overthecenturiesthatfollowedand has been

restoredseveraltimes.

WHOCANVISITMECCA?

MeccaisonlyaccessibletoMuslims.

Thenumber

offloorsof

themosque:a

ground,firstand

rooflevel.

Theestimatedcapacityof

peoplethemosqueandsurroundingarea

canaccommodate.

4 MILLION

The amount of people the

mosque can accommodate at one time.

1,5 MILLION

The time it takes to

clean the entire

mosque. Over 2 000

male and female

workers, who are

available round-the-

clock, work in four

shifts.

45 MINUTES

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 (a 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.

PA RT

2 OF 5

60 | 8 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za