The Great Mosque began as a small, unassuming, unroofed building with low walls made of rough stone. Over the centuries it has evolved to become a superstructure with six minarets, a dome, and a courtyard capable of holding 800,000 people during the most important Muslim pilgrimage.

Practicing Muslims pray in the direction of the Great Mosque’s shrine five times a day wherever they are. Kaaba is the focal point of prayer and the center of the faith. The structure has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the Prophet Mohammed removed pagan idols and rededicated it to Allah in 630.

The mosque has been added to extensively over the centuries. Most importantly, early porticoes surrounding the courtyard, which were erected during the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, were only narrowly saved when the Saudi King, Abdul Aziz, sponsored the extension of the structure in the 1950s.