Al-Masjid (al-Haram) is the largest mosque in the world. It is the most important shrine for Muslims. On the territory of al-Haram is the Kaaba, which is called the house of Allah. During the pilgrimage, every Muslim visits her to perform the rites of Hajj and Namaz.
Where is the largest mosque in the world?
It will be interesting to know all the representatives of Islam. The construction of the world's largest mosque began in 638 in the city of Mecca (Saudi Arabia). The existing version has been known since 1570. During the period of its functioning, the mosque was constantly rebuilt. Therefore, almost nothing remained of its original version. At first, al-Haram consisted of six minarets. But when the same number of towers appeared at the Istanbul Blue Mosque, Imam Mecca regarded this as sacrilege. He was of the opinion that no temple in the world could compare with the Kaaba. After that, Sultan Ahmed ordered the construction of the seventh minaret in al-Haram. So we got the answer to the question, where is the largest mosque in the world.
Reconstruction of the 20th century
It began in the late 1980s. Two minarets and a huge building were added to the southwest side. It is there now that the main entrance is located, which is called the Gate of King Fadh. The total area of the mosque reached 357 thousand square meters.
The temple includes nine minarets. Their height reaches 95 meters. In addition to the four main gates, the mosque has 44 more entrances. There are 7 escalators in the building, and around the perimeter there are more than 500 marble columns.
In the main rooms, air is freshened with air conditioning. There are separate rooms for performing ablutions and prayers, which are divided into female and male. At the same time, al-Masjid can accommodate up to 800 thousand people, but on condition that all believers will be on the roof of the building.
21st Century Reconstruction
In 2007, the king of Saudi Arabia decided to start a new large-scale reconstruction of the largest mosque in the world. It lasted until 2012. It was decided to expand the northern part of the structure. Thanks to this, the area increased to 400 thousand square meters, which allowed to accommodate already 1.12 million believers. They built the King Abdullah Gate, as well as two more towers. All new and old rooms equipped with air conditioning.
After the reconstruction, the territory of the mosque has grown significantly. Now 2.5 million people could participate in events and ceremonies. All work cost $ 10.6 billion.
sights
- Kaaba. The most important building of al-Masjid. It is in its direction that believers make prayers on a regular basis.
- Black stone. The second most important shrine in the mosque. This holy stone, Aswad, is set in one of the corners of the Kaaba and is covered with a silver frame. Initially, it was white, but then turned black due to the attraction of people's sins.
- Makam Ibrahim. The construction of the Kaaba was attended by the prophet Ismail, along with his father Ibrahim. The first rolled stones, and the second did masonry. When the walls became very high, Ismail rolled a large boulder to continue the work on the construction of the Almighty House. The place on the stone where Ibrahim stood and is called Makam. There even traces of his feet were imprinted.
- Hijr Ismail. In this semicircular wall near the Kaaba, the prophet Ismail is buried.
- Source Zamzam. Very clean water flows from it, which has a number of useful properties. Pilgrims not only drink it on the spot, but also pick it up in containers to take to their homelands and treat their loved ones.
- The peaks of Marva and Safa. The ritual running between these two hills is one of the main elements of the hajj.
