Two Great Mosques of the World (Source of Pictures: Aramco World, January/February 1999)
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| Sacred Mosque of Makkah, Saudi Arabia | |||||||
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The Sacred Mosque of Makkah, with its 15-meter-high (48") Ka'ba, is
the focal point of Islamic prayer worldwide. It was built by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham)
(Peace Be Upon Him) and his son Prophet Isma'il (Ishamel) (Peace Be Upon Him) as a place
for the worship of the one God, Allah. Apart from the Ka'ba, the mosque consists of small
hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwa and the Well of Zamzam. In the 10th century, the Scared
Mosque covered an area of 27,000 square meters (6 2/3 acres). The mosque has been
renovated and restored since the periods of the Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk and the Ottoman.
Today, it covers an area of 356,00 square meters (88 acres) with 18 smaller entranceways,
rooftop prayer areas, open plazas surrounding the mosque, seven 89-meter (285') minarets
and can accommodate around 2 million prayers at one time.
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| Prophet's Mosque of Madinah, Saudi Arabia | |||||||
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The Prophet's Mosque of Madinah was built by Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be
Upon Him) and his companions including Abu Bakr and Omar upon reaching Madinah, after days
of migration from Makkah to Madinah in the year 622. The mosque was constructed at a
spot where the Prophet's camel had halted. The original design of the Prophet's Mosque (in
a square shape of 1,050 square meters or 11,300 square feet)) included a simple structure
with wall of mud bricks, pillars made of date tree trunks and roof made of date leaves.
The mosque also had small apartments at one side for the Prophet's family and an open
courtyard on the ground with three main entrances. The mosque had been greatly expanded
during the periods of 'Umar (638), 'Uthman (649-650), Al-Walid (706-709), Al-Mahdi
(777-781), Al-Sultan (1483), Abd al-Majid (1265-1277) and King Abd al-Aziz (1952). During
the period of 1988 and 1995, the Prophet's Mosque of Madinah has been greatly extended
with 35,000 square meters or nearly nine acres of open plazas around the mosque, six new
105-meter (336') minarets brought to the mosque's total of 10, a series of 27
sliding domes, each 15 meters (48') in diameter and is air-conditioned by a massive system
that produces 54,500 liters (14,400 gal) of cold water every minute. Today, two new
umbrella-like awnings that open automatically in sunlight have been installed at the two
internal courtyard of the mosque. This has become one of the most remarkable engineering
achievements in the renovated Prophet's Mosque of Madinah.
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