Back to the Kaaba: The Heart of the Muslim World

The Kaaba is the centre of the Muslim world – quite literally, as Muslims all over the world pray in its direction (qibla). Earlier depictions of the Masjid al-Haram emphasized this magnetic quality of the Kaaba by abstracting the architectural structures to center the Kaaba. For instance, the maqams (stations) would point towards the rectangular Kaaba.

In our vertical Kaaba scroll, although the structures of the Masjid al-Haram are all upright rather than pointing towards the Kaaba, the Kaaba is still undoubtedly the central image. The solid black structure stands tall in the center of the picture, dwarfing the other structures. The paved pathways from four directions and thin grid lines underneath the Kaaba (representing a paved area) form a radial pattern that leads inwards to the central Kaaba.