Mecca and the mall

Mecca is the holiest city in Islam, home to the Masjid al-Haram (the Great Mosque), which surrounds the Kaaba, a black cuboid stone considered the axis mundi (the center of the world in religious cosmology).

The mosque is the largest in the world and the focal point of Muslim worship.

Pilgrims (hajj or umrah participants) face the Kaaba during their five daily prayers, regardless of their location.

The Kaaba’s significance stems from Islamic belief that it was the first building dedicated to God, rebuilt by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael.

The mosque complex also includes sites tied to key figures like Abraham and the Prophet Muhammad, such as the Maqam-e-Ibrahim (a stone bearing Abraham’s footprints) and the hills of Safa and Marwa, where Hagar searched for water.