The Kaaba
The qibla and the mataf around it.
Cagritasarim — CC BY-SA 4.0 · saudipics — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Javid — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wurzelgnohm — CC0 · M sh شراونة محمد — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Basheer Olakara — CC BY 2.0 · Basil D Soufi — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Unknown authorUnknown author On the basis of date, it could be Muhammad Sadiq Bey or Ali Bey, both of whom were photographers in Mecca in 1880. — Public domain
Islam's holiest mosque and the largest mosque in the world, surrounding the Kaaba, the direction Muslims face in prayer, in the centre of Mecca. Pilgrims performing Hajj and Umrah come here from all over the world. It is also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, and it is cared for today by Saudi Arabia, whose king carries the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Besides the Kaaba, the mosque holds the Black Stone; the Maqam Ibrahim, a small stone kept in a protective case near the Kaaba and linked in Islamic tradition to the Prophet Abraham; and the Zamzam well, about twenty metres east of the Kaaba, whose water is handed out to worshippers throughout the mosque. It also takes in the Mas'a between the hills of Safa and Marwa, a covered walkway where the sa'i of Hajj and Umrah is performed. The mosque has been enlarged many times over the centuries, most extensively in the Saudi expansions since the 1950s. Among them was King Abdullah's project, announced in 2011, to raise its capacity from about 770,000 worshippers to over 2.5 million, with a larger mataf around the Kaaba, air conditioning in all the enclosed halls and two new minarets, bringing the total to eleven. Mecca is open to Muslims only. Praying in the Grand Mosque needs no permit, while performing Umrah requires a permit booked in the «Nusuk» app. Crowds peak in Ramadan and the Hajj season, and in the weeks before Hajj entry to Mecca is limited to Hajj permit holders and the city's residents. Dress modestly, carry as little as you can and agree on a meeting gate with your group: the gates are many and numbered.
The qibla and the mataf around it.
Its water is on hand across the mosque.
Between Safa and Marwa.
Central Mecca, around the Kaaba
No permit is needed to pray in the Grand Mosque, but performing Umrah requires a permit booked in the «Nusuk» app of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
No. In the weeks before Hajj and until it ends, entry to Mecca is limited to Hajj permit holders, the city's residents and people with work permits, and Umrah permits are paused.
