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Photo: Aboluay, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
An arched gateway on the highway to Mecca. It marks the boundary of the area where only Muslims are permitted to enter.
The Gate of Mecca, Mecca Gate or Makkah Gate, also known as Qur'an Gate, is an arch gateway monumental on the Makkah al-Mukkarramah road of the Jeddah–Makkah Highway. It is the entrance to Mecca, the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and signifies the boundary of the haram area of the city of Mecca, where non-Muslims are prohibited to enter.
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متحف الحرم شریف
This museum has a lot of historical artifacts from different eras.
The museum aims to educate the Muslim community on the architectural designs of the two holy mosques.
The only place in Saudi Arabia where Kiswa is traditionally made to mark the beginning of Hajj.
At the center of the grand mosque is the Kaaba, which according to Muslim traditions was built by the Prophet Abraham and his son, the Prophet Ishmael. Covered in black cloth, it is circled seven times by Muslim pilgrims and it is toward the Kaaba that Muslims face in the direction while performing Islamic prayers (Salat). The Black Stone set intact into the Kaaba's eastern cornerstone wall by Muhammad himself is an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradition, dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. Many Muslim pilgrims while doing Tawaf try to kiss and touch the sacred stone; however, this usually requires a lot of effort because of crowding.