Journey to the Kaaba: The hajj pilgrimage

This black box may look familiar. It is a painting of the Kaaba in Mecca (present-day Saudi Arabia). Also known as the House of God, according to Islamic belief, it was built by the prophet Abraham. Muslims all around the world pray in the direction of qibla converging on the Kaaba.

The Kaaba is the center of the annual hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime compulsory pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims who have the means to travel. During the hajj, pilgrims participate in physical rituals around Mecca to commemorate the Prophet and important historical events at the advent of Islam. One of the most important rites is to walk in circles around the Kaaba seven times anticlockwise (tawaf). Pilgrims make tawaf twice — once as part of the pilgrimage, and once at the end of the pilgrimage.