The Grand Mosque of Makkah - Great Expansion

 

The Grand Mosque of Makkah A history of expansion and architecture the hearts of Muslims clung to it’s their eternal Qibla The Muslims has cared for the mosque Since the holy prophetic era until the rise of the great Saudi State Because Hajj and Umrah are fundamental practices in Islam Muslims were concerned with the expansion of the Grand Mosque of Makkah Throughout history, the Grand Mosque of Makkah has undergone various architectural expansions and developments To receive a larger number of yearning hearts and to circumambulate the holy Kaaba The architecture of the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah went through several stages starting from the Caliph Omar Bin Al-Khattab era may God be well pleased with him During his reign, Caliph Ottoman Ibn Affan considered the necessity of expanding the Grand Mosque of Makkah Because of the abundant residence that was surrounding the Grand Mosque it became congested. He ordered the purchasing of the surrounding houses to accommodate more visitors and pilgrims. And in that expansion, Ottoman, May God be well pleased with him, ordered the creation of Riwaq (arcade) for the mosque, after increasing its capacity. And history books documented this urban development and those Riwaqs built by Ottoman.

 

 

These were what proved and confirmed that the Grand Mosque Riwaqs were attributed and designated by Caliph Ottoman Ibn Affan. He was the first to commence the purchasing of neighboring houses and built the Riwaqs in the Grand Mosque. After the years of the caliphate, the Grand mosque got developed In the 64th year after Hijra, the dignified companion of the Prophet Abd Allah Ibn Al-Zubayr conducted new developments in the Grand Mosque he supported its roof with marble pillars and its capacity has increased twice as much as it was in the era of Ottoman In the 75th year after Hijra, during the reign of the Umayyad Abd al-Malik bin Marwan he added some internal architectural plans to the Haram raised its walls and ceiling and also added fifty mithqals (4.25 g) of gold to the top of each column in the mosque During the reign of Al-Walid, the son of Umayyad Abd al-Malik bin Marwan he added columns that were brought from Egypt and the Levant. He also increased the area of the Haram on the eastern side by building a circular Riwaq. During Abbasid Abu Ja'far al- Mansur's reign he ordered the increase of the Riwaq on the nave of the mosque and built a minaret in its northwestern corner.

 

Twenty years later, Muhammad al-Mahdi made a significant expansion into the Haram ensuring that the mosque would be a square and that the Kaaba would be in the center His expansion included all parts of the mosque. He ordered the construction of a large Riwaq for the Haram to be attached to the courtyard of the Kaaba adding columns, crowns, and marble bases and then it was called the Great Abbassid Riwaq and Abbasid expansion continued until the era of Al-Mu’tadid Bi-llah who added Dar an-Nadwa to the Grand Mosque. After he supported the Grand mosque with teak-wooden columns and Riwaqs. Then, in the era of Al-Muqtadir Bi-llah, the size of the mosque was increased via the addition of some doors and the merging of its areas. Despite their tyrannical harmful history against Muslim Arabs, the Turks try to.... embellish their modern history by referring to the Riwaqs of the Grand Mosque as theirs but history proves that the existence of the Riwaqs was approximately nine centuries before their existence their Ottoman’s misguiding narratives seek to obliterate and falsify the truth taking advantage of the Caliph Ottoman Ibn Affan and the association of the name of the Riwaqs with him Anadolu Agency reported that the name of the Riwaqs were related to the Ottomans and after the disapproval of people they had to approve the referring of the Riwaqs to the Caliph Ottoman, may God be well pleased with him to be followed no Civilisation, no History the Ottomans came to the Arab areas they learned civilisation, culture and development.

 

The psychological and historical tensions were a natural result .Among those who were once-powerful Mughals practicing oppressing and murdering throughout their history until everything faded out and fell since then, they see the Arabs as a major reason for overthrowing their empire and conquering their power a civilization woven by Europeans, Arabs and Kurds. The Anatolian Turks are aware of their made-up civilization in contrary to their bloody history and treacherous wars and that civilisation was due to a mixture of peoples and human races. They controlled it with hatred and restraint. Europeans, Arabs, Kurds, and others were among them. The Ottomans created an influential and powerful class to get rid of the indigenous Anatolian people those who tried to be independent of migrant invaders many times in history historical and Ethnic Complex Ottoman history is filled with successive national and ethnic conflicts Between the Turks and the hybrid turks as a result of the intermarriage of the Turks with the Europeans and between the Persians, Shamans and Zoroastrians coming from Central Asia this turned into a historical nightmare until historians changed it with stories of Ottoman myths and dreams.

 

Inside The Great Mosque of Makkah

The Great Mosque of Makkah

Inside The Great Mosque of Makkah The Great Mosque of Makkah is HUGE! The first floor is devoted entirely to the main prayer hall. The mosque enclosure is 100 times larger than Muhammad's original mosque and can hold more than half a million people. The mosque features a flat paved roof with 24 square-base domes above it. The inside is illuminated via holes drilled into the base of each dome. During peak hours, the roof is also utilized for prayer, with the 24 domes sliding out on metal tracks to shade portions of the roof and provide light wells for the prayer hall. At these periods, umbrellas mounted to freestanding columns shade the courtyard of the Ottoman Mosque. 

Ottoman structure

The roof is accessible through escalators and stairs. The paved area surrounding the mosque, which is furnished with umbrella tents, is also utilized for prayer. Three porticos are evenly distributed on the north face, while two are evenly positioned on the east, west, and south facades. Six additional minarets are connected to the new enlargement, while four more surround the Ottoman structure. Polychrome marble and stones are used to elaborately embellish the mosque. The columns are made of white marble and have brass caps. They support arches made of black and white stones that are slightly pointed. The temperature inside the prayer hall is controlled by ventilation grills on the column pedestals. The original mosque is housed within the modern mosque. Ar-Rawdah an-Nabawiyah, which runs from Muhammad's tomb to his pulpit, is a highly remarkable but modest space in the heart of the mosque. 

Pilgrims 

Pilgrims try to visit ar-Rawdah and pray there since it is said that supplications and prayers made here are never refused. Because the little location can only hold a few hundred individuals, access to ar-Rawdah is not always accessible. Two small gates in Ar-Rawdah are guarded by Saudi police officers. The Ottomans created the current marble pulpit. The first pulpit, which was made of palm tree wood rather than marble, was much smaller than the current one. Jannah or heaven includes the area of Ar-Rawdah an-Nabawiyah. Now, the history of the Mosque is very important and pretty cool! But before we get into it, we’d appreciate if you took a moment like the video and subscribe to the channel for more content like this. The Great Mosque of Makkah, also known as the Holy Mosque or Haram Mosque, is a mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, designed to encircle the Ka’aba, Islam's holiest shrine. It gets millions of pilgrims each year as one among the hajj and Umrah pilgrimage locations. The contemporary structure's oldest elements date from the 16th century. Several pilgrimage ceremonies are held in the mosque, which has a rectangular Centre courtyard surrounded by covered prayer sections. The awf, or ritual circumambulation of the Ka’aba, is performed in the courtyard by pilgrims. In the courtyard, there are two more sacred sites: the station of Abraham, a stone associated with the Qurnic tale of Abraham and Ishmael reconstructing the Ka’aba, and the Zamzam well, a hallowed stream, according to Islamic belief. Al-af and al-Marwah, two tiny hills to the east and north of the courtyard, are where pilgrims must run or walk in a ceremony known as the say. The contemporary structure is the result of centuries of evolution. 

Ka'aba as the Qibla 

The Ka’aba, then a shrine for Arab polytheists, stood in an open space where worshippers gathered to pray and perform rites in the pre-Islamic era. The Ka’aba was likewise revered by the Prophet Muhammad's early followers. Muslims briefly prayed toward Jerusalem after their departure to Medina in 622 CE, until a Quranic revelation defined the Ka’aba as the Qiblah, or direction of prayer. When Muhammad arrived at Mecca in 630, he ordered the idols at the shrine to be destroyed, purging the shrine of polytheistic associations. Throughout the twentieth century, the mosque was refurbished and expanded on multiple occasions. In 1948, the mosque became the first to deploy an electric public-address system. The mosque underwent the most significant transformations in the second half of the twentieth century, when commercial air travel increased the number of pilgrims to Mecca and Saudi Arabia's new oil wealth allowed its rulers to fund huge construction projects. The first expansion of the mosque in Saudi Arabia occurred in 1955, during the reign of King Saud. The 1973 extension included new construction surrounding the Ottoman Mosque, increasing its total size from 290,000 square feet to 1,630,000 square feet and raising its maximum capacity to 500,000 people. The tunnel connecting al-af and al-Marwah was extended and incorporated into the mosque's structure. 

King Fah'd Restorations

Under King Fahd's second restorations, the mosque gained a new wing as well as an outdoor prayer area. The King Fahd Gate leads to the new wing, which is also used for prayers. This expansion took place between 1982 and 1988, and included the addition of more minarets, the construction of a King's house overlooking the mosque, and the expansion of the prayer area within and outside the mosque. These events occurred at the same time as those at Arafat, Mina, and Muzdalifah. This extension also included the addition of 18 more gates, three domes matching to each gate, and over 500 marble columns. Heated flooring, air conditioning, escalators, and a drainage system were among the new additions. The government of King Abdullah published more details about the development in August 2011. It would include a multi-level addition on the north side of the complex, new stairways and tunnels, a gate named after King Abdullah, and two minarets, bringing the total number of minarets to eleven. It would cover an area of 4,300,000 sq ft and accommodate 1.2 million worshippers. 

Crane Toppled onto the Mosques

The Kaaba's circumambulation zones would be extended, and all enclosed places would be air-conditioned. It will increase the mosque's capacity from 770,000 to over 2.5 million worshippers once completed. In July 2015, King Salman, his successor, unveiled five megaprojects as part of the wider King Abdullah Expansion Project, totaling 4,910,000 sq. ft. The Saudi Binladin Group was in charge of the project. A crane toppled onto the mosque on September 11, 2015, killing at least 111 people and injuring 394 others. Following the event, construction work was halted, and it remained halted because to financial difficulties during the 2010s oil glut. In September 2017, development was re-started after a two-year hiatus. The mosque began closing at night on March 5, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Umrah pilgrimage was suspended to restrict attendance. The first phase of a gradual restoration of Umrah service, which was limited to Saudi citizens and expatriates from within the Kingdom at a rate of 30%, commenced on 4 October 2020. That is all for today folks!

 

INTRODUCTOIN TO GREAT STORY OF GREAT EXPANSION

 INTRODUCTOIN TO GREAT STORY OF GREAT EXPANSION

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most merciful and praise be to Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds, who blessed this country by making it the Qibla for all Muslims and endowed it with various yields, treasures of the Earth and stability and security.

Here, I will share information and stories of great effort, epitomized in the expansion an construction of the Holy Mosque and its surroundings. People who lived in Makkah and used to pray beside the Ka'aba and touched the Multazam, and witnessed the wonderful transformation of there small quiet town, into what we see today a modern city, with tall buildings was just beyond our imagination.

We used to go on long journeys to visit the Mosque of Prophet, peace be upon him, pray there and greet the Prophet ﷺ and his companions. Madinah was not different from Makkah. This similarity makes contractors understand the dimensions of the expansion and construction of the Prophet's ﷺ Mosque.

MEGA Project - Railway Makkah - Madina

This mega project is related to the construction of a high-speed railway that connects two Islamic holy places - Mecca and Medina. It is also called the Haramain high-speed railway, where Haramain refers to the cities of Mecca and Medina. What is interesting about this project are the extremely difficult climatic and geographical conditions in which the line was built - deserts, open valleys, desert winds, and high temperatures, all dictated a need for different technical  solutions on the same railway line. As usual, let s start with the background of the project.  

 

The Saudi Railway Master Plan for the period 2010 to 2040 includes a portfolio of 97 billion US dollars dedicated to the strategic development of 19 individual railway lines. The total length of these lines is approximately 9,900 km (6,150 miles). These projects are classified into three stages, with the first stage covering the period from 2010 to 2025, the second one from 2026 to 2033, and the third from 2034 to 2040. The first stage is considered high-priority and includes the following projects: Upgrade of the existing double-track conventional rail line between Dammam and Riyadh. Construction of the Saudi Railway Land Bridge between Riyadh and Jeddah and between Dammam and Jubail, Construction of the Haramain High-Speed Railway connecting Mecca, Jeddah and Medina, and Construction of the North-South Mineral Line between the northern regions, Ras Al Khair/Jubail, and the capital Riyadh, including the connection to the proposed railway  network in Jordan via Al Haditha - ESCWA.

 

The idea of the Saudi Railway Organization with Haramain High-Speed Railway was to handle the transportation needs of a growing number of seasonal pilgrims to Mecca. In addition, there are performers of Umrah and a significant number of permanent residents of the cities along the way. The plan was to reduce the travel time between Mecca and Medina to 2 hours and 30 minutes, less than 30 minutes from Mecca to Jeddah, and about two hours from Jeddah to Medina. The estimated demand was quite high, with 60 million passengers per year. The city of Mecca attracts about 2.5 million pilgrims during the period of Hajj every year, as well as more than 2 million Umrah performers during the month of Ramadan. And there has already been the existing heavy passenger railway traffic, especially during Fridays. The authorities also wanted to further stimulate growth in a massive business zone of King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). Due to safety and comfort reasons, the Haramain Railway is also seen by the Saudi Arabian government as the best option for pilgrims. 

 

(King Abdullah Economic City - KAEC, Saudi Arabia)

Namely, it will help reduce traffic congestion and accidents on the roads linking Mecca and Medina. Due to all these reasons, the design and construction of the project needed to withstand heavy traffic conditions and tough climate, while the track, rolling stock, and stations needed to be designed in such a way to handle the temperature changes of up to 50 C. The length of the Haramain high-speed railway is 453 km (281 mi). It was designed as an electrified double track rail line with a maximum speed of 320 km/h (199 mph), with commercial operation at a maximum 300 km/h (186 mph). For the purpose of easier design and construction, the alignment was divided into six major areas: The first area in the length of 75 km (46 mi) from Mecca to Jeddah, mainly because this section goes through valleys and rolling terrain, The second area in the length of 35 km (21 mi) located in urban area of Jeddah, because of the need for redesigning and reconstruction of 8 highway interchanges, The third area in the length of 80 km (49 mi) from Jeddah to King Abdullah  Economic City because of the Sabkha Soil  deposits with low bearing capacity, The fourth area in the length of 100 km  (62 mi) from King Abdullah Economic City to Near Wadi Al Fora a, characterized  by coastal areas and open valleys, The fifth area in the length of 85 km (52 mi)  from Near Wadi Al Fora a to Near Alyutamah, characterized by mountainous terrain,  narrow valleys and flood plain which required excessive drainage structures, and Semi mountainous terrain from Near Alyutamah to Medina in the length of 75 km (46 mi). Additionally, the line has connecting branch to Jeddah KAIA airport (3.75 km) and auxiliary branches to the three maintenance bases:  a first-rate maintenance workshop near Mecca, another near Medina, and a depot at 125th km of the line.

 

However, the most significant aspects of this project are definitely high standards of safety and incident management system. It was planned that the line will be equipped with ERTMS which will consist of the Da Vinci management system, the ETCS 2 blocking system and the GSM-R voice and data communications system.  Also, reinforced concrete crash barriers, 1.8m in height, are provided along both sides of the track in urbanized sections. They are designed to take dynamic loads of 200 tons striking at speeds of 200 km/h. The Directorate General of Civil Defence is made responsible for handling potential emergency situations. Now, if you think safety is a big deal for railway traffic, why it would be different for your surfing and online traffic? 

 

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The project includes five state of the art passenger stations: Mecca, Jeddah Central, Jeddah KAIA, Rabigh-KAEC and Medina. Each station has a distinct identity and building outlook compatible with the respective cities they serve which will be discussed in the next chapter. Based on the approval of the project by the supreme Economic Council, the construction project is implemented on a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) approach. It was divided into two phases, with Phase I being divided into two packages. Phase I - Package 1 consists of the civil works on the track substructure, including the construction of bridges, viaducts, retaining walls, tunnels, and embankments. The $1.8 billion design and construction contract for Package 1 was awarded in March 2009 to Al Rajhi Alliance which comprises China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Al Arrab Contracting Company Ltd, Al Suwailem Company and the French construction company Bouygues. Work began in late 2009, with completion scheduled for April 2012. Subsequently, some bridges and other structures were added to the project, especially in area 1, in a total amount of $1, 04 billion, which was an increase of about 55% to the initial amount. Because of that the completion was extended to December 2014, but, bearing in mind the complexity of this phase, all works were completed only in 2016. Phase I - Package 2 includes the construction of the five passenger stations, four along the line and fifth on the branch towards the Jeddah KAIA airport. In April 2009, $38 million worth of design contracts for the stations were awarded to a joint venture of Foster&Partners and Buro Happold.

 

These companies have adopted a modularised approach to designing, taking into account Islamic architectural traditions. The stations represent custom designed prefabricated structures that maximize day light use while effectively filtering harmful ultraviolet rays, which is a kind of energy efficient green-building concept. The outlook of the stations is almost common to all 5, it is marked by a sequence of arches 25 meters high, but with colour variations that identify the different cities: gold for Mecca, in reference to the gold leaf of the Kaaba; green for Medina, for the colour of the dome of the Prophet's Mosque; blue and silver for Rabigh-KAEC, as a symbol of a new emerging city, and purple for Jeddah, in reference to its culture. In addition to the main arrivals and departures building, their design includes a mosque, a fire station, a helipad, and shopping and parking areas. Contracts for the construction of the stations were awarded in February 2011: for the Jeddah central and Jeddah KAIA in the value of $878 million, Mecca central in the value of $963 million, King Abdullah Economic City in the value of $530 million, and Knowledge Economic City  in Medina in the value of $468 million. We could mention here that in September 2019, a devastating fire caught the Jeddah station, with the blaze starting in the stations ceiling according to reports, which injured 11 people. It took more than 10 hrs. for firefighters to put the fire under control. Phase II of the project included the remaining infrastructure works that are not included in Phase-1: design, construction, operation and maintenance of the track, installation of signaling and telecommunication systems, power supply and catenaries.

 

It also includes the supply and maintenance of rolling stock, and the operation and maintenance of the line for 12 years. On 26th October 2011, the Saudi Railways Organization announced that the Saudi-Spanish consortium Al Shoula Group made up 88% of Spanish and 12% Saudis companies  won the Phase 2 contract in the amount of $9,3 b. Moreover, this phase was divided into two parts; the first being the construction of the superstructure, the supply of rolling stock and the commissioning of the line. The second part relates to the operation of the line and the maintenance of rolling stock, with Renfe and Adif in charge for the operation of trains and managing the line. The works started in September 2012 with a completion deadline in December 2016. Following the 32-month extension granted to Phase 1.1, Saudi Railway Organization and the Phase 2 consortium agreed in February 2014 on an Acceleration Plan to complete all works by the first quarter of 2018 - Which was eventually achieved. Talgo has supplied a fleet of 35 T350 trains and an additional train for the exclusive use of the Saudi royal family. The trains have capacity of 417 seated passengers, and are formed of two power cars, four business-class coaches, eight standard-class vehicles, as well as a caf , in a total length of 215m. The 300 km/h trains are based on the AVE Class series 102 and 112 supplied to Renfe, which have been adapted to operate in the extreme climatic conditions of the Arabian Desert. 

 

Among other, they have special insulation, window protection and a high-performance air conditioning. In addition, the trains feature special blowers positioned close to the wheels for clearing sand off the track together with military-grade air filters, reinforced door seals to prevent dust ingress, and polyurethane coatings on the driving cab windscreen to reduce wear from the blowing sand. Some dynamic tests were performed back in 2017 in extreme environmental conditions, with very high temperatures close to 50 C, and with the presence of desert sand. Results were good having in mind the trains had a good response to such conditions while still achieving the maximum speed of 300 km/h.

 

The project was opened in conjunction with the Saudi National Day on 25th September 2018, in the presence of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Commercial service on the line was fully introduced on 17th October 2018. At the beginning of the commissioning, the operator was running 40 trips per week, or eight trains per day, five days a week, with two days reserved for finalization of infrastructure works. For the first 6 months of operation, the line has carried more than 250,000 passengers. Load factors of 82% have been achieved on more than 450 trips that have taken place. Services operated at 93% punctuality. We were unable to find any further information on the ridership, so if any of our viewers are ware of those figures, we would be grateful if they share them with us in the comments. Also, we must point out that one of the biggest success stories of the project was the ability of suppliers from across the world to work successfully together in Saudi Arabia. 

 

This was the story of a fantastic mega project that once again showed that engineering has no boundaries and that it is possible to tame nature for the benefit of both, nature and humans. We hope that this railway line will show its true potential in the future, bearing in mind it had only one full year of  operation - as you know, 2020 brought us pandemic, with great restrictions, which especially  affected passenger transport systems. One last thing before the end.  As some of you already know, Railways Explained is now on Patreon! So, if you value our work and want to support our production, you can do it on that platform with a small monthly donation. Check out the link in the description!  Also, don t forget to go to NordVPN link, and consider getting a two-year plan with a huge discount provided by Railways Explained! And finally, this was all for today, we hope you enjoyed and learned something new about the railways of the world. Don t forget to like this blog, share it with your rail-loving friends. 

 

The Ka'aba Building & Dimensions

Dimensions & Building of Ka'aba

Historians give different dimensions for the Ka'aba, because they used different measures of a cubit. Some used the length of an arm, and others used metal cubit. In Tariekh Al-Ka'aba, it was mentioned that the length of a human arm ranges between 46 to 52 cm. The cubit is 56.5 cm. Recently, it was said that the length of an arm is 48 cm. Ibrahim Rifaat mentioned in his book Miratul Haramain, that he measured the Ka'aba using  a meter and found that it is 15 meters height. Its northern, western, southern and eastern widths are 9.2, 12.15, 10.25 and 11.88 meters respectively.

The author of Tariekh Al-Ka'aba Al-Muazamah disagreed with Ibrahim Rifaat about the height and said, "It seems that Ibrahim Rifaat did not actually measure the ka'aba height, but he estimated it instead."

The Hajj Research Centre of Umm Al-Qura University at Makkah, studied the movement in the circumambulation area. It came out with the following measures for the Ka'aba and the Hajar Ismail:

1. The Distance from the black corner to the Al-Rukn Al-Shami, including the Ka'aba door is 11.6 meters.
2. From Al-Rukn Al-Yamani to the western corner is 12.04 meters.
3. From the Black Corner to Al-Rukn Al-Yamani is 10.18 meters.
4. From Al-Rukn Al-Shami to the western corner is 9.90 meters.

The height of Ka'aba was 4.32 meters at the time it was built by Ibrahim (pbuh). It was 8.64 meters when it was built by Quraish, and finally it was 12.9 meters when it was built by Abullahi Ibn Al-Zubair. The Caliph Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan restored the Ka'aba's height in his time as it was.

                                  

The height of the ka'aba mentioned by Ibrahim Rifaat Pasha for its building by Al-Hajjaj seems to be inaccurate. he seems to be reporting the author of Miratul Haramain when he said that the height is 15 meters.

The ka'aba Building

The Ka'aba was built and rebuilt twelve times by the following builders:

• The Angels;
• Adam;
• Shaith;
• Ibrahim (pbuh);
• Amalekites;
• Jarham;
• Qusai;
• Abdul Mutalib;
• Quraish tribe;
• Abdullahi Ibn Al-Zubair;
• Al-Hajjaj;
• The Ottoman Sultan Murad Khan;

                                 

(Eid Al-Fitr Prayers in 379 A.H. (1959 E.C). 

The minarets and the domes of Al-Mahkama Gate and the Al-Ziyadah Gate are seen.)

Historians do not agree completely about the history of building the ka'aba. However, the definite  history is that the main builders are three, namely, Ibrahim, the Quraish tribe, and Abdullahi Ibn Al-Zubair and Al-Hajjaj. Ibrahim (pbuh) building is mentioned in the Quran. Quraish tribe's building is mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ Hadith as reported by Al-Bukhari, Ibn Al-Zubair and Al-Hajjaj & Sultan Murad Khan II building is agreed upon by historians. We then can conclude that these twelve builders are those who gave a service to the Ka'aba either by maintaining or rebuilding it. They all have the honor of contributing to the House of Allah. Moreover, they are the three builders who built it on foundations. Al Hajjaj, for example, removed the additional part built by Ibn Al-Zubair and restored the part built by Quraish. he did not build on the Ka'aba foundation.

                            

(The external facade of the Holy Masjid in Makkah before the first 

Saudi expansion and the Ajyad Gate and its Minarets come into the view)

Sacredness, holiness and Glory of Ka'aba

Ka'aba, Sacredness  & Holiness(The Holy house of Allah):

It's certain that the first house appointed for people to worship in is the Ka'aba, as it is mentioned in the Qur'an: "The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkah: full of blessing and of guidance for all kinds of beings." (Sura 3, Verse 96).

The historians disagree about its first builder. "Most of the ancient history of the Ka'aba is missing or unknown in details, but the agreed upon history is that it had been built before Adam, and that the Angels built it under the Centre of the Divine Throne after the frequented house. Historians say: if this is proved that its building was before the time of Ibrahim (PBUH), it might only be a foundation building."

The blessed Ka'aba is the House of Allah, and God ascribed it to Himself saying that, "Remember we made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and Ismail that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it around, or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer)." (Sura 2, verse 125).

Holiness and Glory of Ka'aba:

"God ascribed the House to himself to inform mankind about its sacredness, holiness and glory. He honored it to be a place of refuge for all mankind and a place of assembly for them. They feel secure and fear no hunger as they worship God truly in the Ka'aba yard."

The Ka'aba is the venerable building at the Centre of the Holy Haram in Makkah. It is the Qibla (the direction to which Muslims turn in prayer), the focus of attention, and the place where worshippers gather for the five daily prayers. They circumambulate (Tawaf) it day and night except at prayer times, at which times all worshippers stand in front of it, or stand in its direction to worship God through praying. The movement around it is permanent and never stops.

Why Glorified House is called Ka'aba:

"The name (Ka'aba) or the glorified House, is mentioned in many history books. For example, Al-Hafiz  Al-Baghwi said in his Tafsir, quoting Mujahid, that is was called "Ka'aba" because of its square shape. The Arabs call any house of such square shape "Ka'aba". Mughatil said, "It is called Ka'aba because of its unique structure, or height above the ground". Ibn Al-Atheer concluded that every thing that stands high is called Ka'aba, and thus its name was derived from being high. It is also said that this name is derived from its being in the square shape.