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Every year millions of Muslims travel to Mecca for the hajj, one of
the five pillars of Islam. Muslims travel to Islams most sacred mosque,
al-Masjid al-Haram, during the six-day pilgrimage. Mecca is thought to
be the place where Ishmael and his mother Hagar were provided with a
spring of water in the desert. As it is the most sacred place in Islam,
non-Muslims are forbidden from entering.
The Ka'aba is a semi-cubic building that stands about 15 meters
high and 10-12 meters wide. It is an ancient, simple structure made of
granite. In the SE corner, a black meteorite (the "Black Stone") is
embedded in a silver frame. Stairs on the north side lead to a door
which allows entry to the interior, which is hollow and empty.
Builded in a Sacred Black Stones meteorite that Muslims believe
was placed by Abraham and Ishmael in a corner of the Kaaba, a
symbol of God's covenant with Abraham and Ishmael and, by
extension, with the Muslim community itself. It is embedded in the
eastern corner of the Kaaba.The Ka'aba is covered with a kiswah, a
black silk cloth which is embroidered in gold with verses from the
Qur'an. The kiswah is re-done and replaced once a year.
According to the Quran, the Ka'aba was built by the prophet Abraham
and his son Ishmael as a house of monotheistic worship.
However, by the time of Muhammad, the Ka'aba had been taken over
by pagan Arabs to house their numerous tribal gods. In 630 A.D.,
Muhammad and his followers took over leadership of Mecca after years
of persecution. Muhammad destroyed the idols inside the Ka'aba and
re-dedicated it as a house of monotheistic worship.
It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Ka'aba and its
environs. Rather, it serves as a focal and unifying point among the
Muslim people. During daily prayers, Muslims face toward the Ka'aba
from wherever they are in the world (this is known as "facing the
qiblah"). During the annual pilgrimage ("Hajj"), Muslims walk around
embroidered onto the silk using 125 kilograms of pure gold thread and
25 kilograms of pure silver thread, in the Thuluth style of Arabic
calligraphy.
The kiswa is actually made of several different panels which are
assembled together, and fixed to the ground with copper rings. The
panel covering the door of the Kaaba on the north-east wall is the
most heavily embellished. Sometimes the edges near the ground are
lifted in order to protect the cloth from damage.
The total cost of manufacturing the kiswa comes to $6 million USD
each year.