At the centre

Makkah is home to the Kaaba, within Al-Masjid al-Haram. It is the direction of Muslim prayer and the centre of the Hajj pilgrimage. The city carries a significance that cannot be reduced to its skyline or its buildings.

A different sense of scale

The mosque brings individual devotion into a shared space. Its courtyards, repeating arches, and surrounding city make an arresting contrast: monumental architecture around a simple, unmistakable centre.

A recent journey

Makkah was one of my most recent journeys, together with Madinah. It is a city better understood through the people who travel to it than through its skyline.

Further reading