ID :
34432
Sun, 12/07/2008 - 18:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/34432
The shortlink copeid
Glaring features of the Two Holy Mosques' Architecture
Mina, Saudi Arabia, December 07, SPA -- The Exhibition of the Two
Holy Mosques Architecture is located in a tranquil setting nestled
amid hills in Makkah's quiet Umm Al-Jude area, not far from the Kiswa
factory.
It holds a magnificent array of items that were part of the two Holy
Harams in Makkah and Madinah at one time, dating as far back as the
10th century Hijira.
Some of the main pieces are the doors of the Ka'aba and the Holy
Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, which have been replaced during
renovations and enhancements over the centuries.
According to Ibn Hisham, who quotes Ibn Ishaq Al-Matlabi, the first
person to make a door for the Ka'aba was the Yemeni king, Tubba'-the
Third, who ruled long before the birth of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). A
similar story is also told by Al-Azraqui in 'Tariekh Al Ka 'aba
Muazzama'. The book notes that when the Quraish were maintaining the
Ka'aba they made a door 11 cubits high with two shutters. (A cubit is
an old measurement equivalent to 40 centimeters). Ibn Al-Zubair also
did the same. Al-Hajjaj - the Ummiad ruler made a shorter door
measuring six cubits and a span because he raised the door from the
ground.
Two Ka'aba doors were made during Saudi rule. The first one was at
the time of King Abdulaziz's rule in 1363H (1944). It was made of
aluminium, buttressed by iron bars and was 2.5 centimeters thick and
3.1 meters high. The front side of the door was covered with silver
sheets and coated with gold, and decorated with inscriptions of
Allah's attributes.
While King Khalid bin Abdulaziz was praying in the Ka'aba in 1393H,
he saw some scratches on the door and issued a directive to make the
second door, the Bab Al-Tawba, from pure gold. Bab Al-Tawba is at the
northern side of the Ka'aba, and through it one can get to the
rooftop. The new door is made from the same wood usually used for
making the Ka'aba door.
The two doors cost SR 13,420 million, in addition to the 280
kilograms of 99.9 per cent pure gold supplied by the Saudi Arabian
Monetary Agency. The work began in 1398H and was finished within a
year. The late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, who was then Crown Prince,
took a keen interest in the project, ensuring that it was finished
perfectly, and ahead of time.
The Ka'aba door is more than 3 meters high, nearly 2 meters wide and
about half a meter in depth. It has two shutters. The body of the
door is 10 centimeters thick and is made from a certain kind of teak
wood called 'makamong'. A special steel frame was made to facilitate
the process of mounting the door in place. The door hinges, equipped
with small wheels to facilitate movement, were fitted to the frame,
which is strong enough to bear 500 kilograms. The door also has a new
lock. It replaces the one made by Sultan Abdul Hameed, but has the
same specifications as the old one.
The exhibition is divided into seven sections. As one enters the
exhibition, on the left is the model of the Holy Mosque in Makkah and
huge photographs of the Makkah and Madinah Harams on the walls. Just
a few feet away is an imposing masterpiece - the teak staircase of
the Holy Ka'aba, manufactured in 1240H. In a photograph of the time
when it was in use, it can be glimpsed behind the ZamZam building.
Just a few steps to the right from the staircase is the oldest piece
in the exhibition - the brass head of the pulpit made in the era of
Sultan Sulaiman Al-Qanoony.
Also on exhibit are one of the pillars of the Holy Ka'aba with its
wooden base and crown dating back to the construction by Abdullah Ibn
Al-Zubair in 65H, a rock base that was holding the pillar, a brass
crescent from 1299H, the crescent of the main minaret of the
Prophet's Mosque from the early 10th century Hijira, and a copper
fence which used to be on one of the windows of the Prophet's Mosque,
dating back to the Saudi Era.
The library section of the Makkah and Madinah mosques has some rare
Qur'an copies and manuscripts.
The Madinah Mosque section comprises the model of the Madinah Haram
and depicts extensions in different periods.
In the ZamZam section are displayed the old railings of the ZamZam
well with a brass bucket from 1299H, which was used to draw water,
and a pulley from the end of the 14th century Hijira. In 1975, during
King Faisal's era, the old buildings housing the ZamZam well were
pulled down to widen the area around the Ka'aba. The work was
completed in a year.
Other pieces in the exhibition include: the case which was used to
cover the Maqaam-e-lbrahim before its replacement in the reign of the
late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz,and two brass crescents of a minaret of
the Holy Mosque from 1299H.
A beautiful and intricately carved gypsum window of the Prophet's
Mosque from the first Saudi extension has been imaginatively
exhibited with a photograph below showing it tilted.
There are also many inscriptions on stone recording the contributions
of the Mamluk Sultan Abu Sa'iid Jaqmaq 852H, a marble slab on which
is engraved the name of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III 983H, and the
rain gutter of the Holy Ka'aba made of wood and plated with gold on
the outside, and covered with lead inside.
The Museum is a neat, well organised place, and one can happily
spend many hours there, browsing through the exhibits. In keeping
with the care and concern exhibited by early caliphs, the late King
Abdulaziz, who established the modern Saudi state, devoted his
attention to the care of the Two Holy Mosques and the well-being of
pilgrims. He ordered the expansions of the Two Holy Mosques and new
facilities and services. This has been continued by his successors
keeping in mind the needs of the time.
In 1988, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, laid the foundation for the third
Saudi expansion of the Mosque in Makkah. Three years earlier, an
equally ambitious expansion plan had been launched for the Prophet's
Mosque in Madinah. Both can now accommodate more than one million
pilgrims each. A notable feature of both projects is that all the
expansions have been done in a way that will permit future expansion
workS to be carried out, without disturbing the architecture, style
or look.
Holy Mosques Architecture is located in a tranquil setting nestled
amid hills in Makkah's quiet Umm Al-Jude area, not far from the Kiswa
factory.
It holds a magnificent array of items that were part of the two Holy
Harams in Makkah and Madinah at one time, dating as far back as the
10th century Hijira.
Some of the main pieces are the doors of the Ka'aba and the Holy
Mosques in Makkah and Madinah, which have been replaced during
renovations and enhancements over the centuries.
According to Ibn Hisham, who quotes Ibn Ishaq Al-Matlabi, the first
person to make a door for the Ka'aba was the Yemeni king, Tubba'-the
Third, who ruled long before the birth of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). A
similar story is also told by Al-Azraqui in 'Tariekh Al Ka 'aba
Muazzama'. The book notes that when the Quraish were maintaining the
Ka'aba they made a door 11 cubits high with two shutters. (A cubit is
an old measurement equivalent to 40 centimeters). Ibn Al-Zubair also
did the same. Al-Hajjaj - the Ummiad ruler made a shorter door
measuring six cubits and a span because he raised the door from the
ground.
Two Ka'aba doors were made during Saudi rule. The first one was at
the time of King Abdulaziz's rule in 1363H (1944). It was made of
aluminium, buttressed by iron bars and was 2.5 centimeters thick and
3.1 meters high. The front side of the door was covered with silver
sheets and coated with gold, and decorated with inscriptions of
Allah's attributes.
While King Khalid bin Abdulaziz was praying in the Ka'aba in 1393H,
he saw some scratches on the door and issued a directive to make the
second door, the Bab Al-Tawba, from pure gold. Bab Al-Tawba is at the
northern side of the Ka'aba, and through it one can get to the
rooftop. The new door is made from the same wood usually used for
making the Ka'aba door.
The two doors cost SR 13,420 million, in addition to the 280
kilograms of 99.9 per cent pure gold supplied by the Saudi Arabian
Monetary Agency. The work began in 1398H and was finished within a
year. The late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, who was then Crown Prince,
took a keen interest in the project, ensuring that it was finished
perfectly, and ahead of time.
The Ka'aba door is more than 3 meters high, nearly 2 meters wide and
about half a meter in depth. It has two shutters. The body of the
door is 10 centimeters thick and is made from a certain kind of teak
wood called 'makamong'. A special steel frame was made to facilitate
the process of mounting the door in place. The door hinges, equipped
with small wheels to facilitate movement, were fitted to the frame,
which is strong enough to bear 500 kilograms. The door also has a new
lock. It replaces the one made by Sultan Abdul Hameed, but has the
same specifications as the old one.
The exhibition is divided into seven sections. As one enters the
exhibition, on the left is the model of the Holy Mosque in Makkah and
huge photographs of the Makkah and Madinah Harams on the walls. Just
a few feet away is an imposing masterpiece - the teak staircase of
the Holy Ka'aba, manufactured in 1240H. In a photograph of the time
when it was in use, it can be glimpsed behind the ZamZam building.
Just a few steps to the right from the staircase is the oldest piece
in the exhibition - the brass head of the pulpit made in the era of
Sultan Sulaiman Al-Qanoony.
Also on exhibit are one of the pillars of the Holy Ka'aba with its
wooden base and crown dating back to the construction by Abdullah Ibn
Al-Zubair in 65H, a rock base that was holding the pillar, a brass
crescent from 1299H, the crescent of the main minaret of the
Prophet's Mosque from the early 10th century Hijira, and a copper
fence which used to be on one of the windows of the Prophet's Mosque,
dating back to the Saudi Era.
The library section of the Makkah and Madinah mosques has some rare
Qur'an copies and manuscripts.
The Madinah Mosque section comprises the model of the Madinah Haram
and depicts extensions in different periods.
In the ZamZam section are displayed the old railings of the ZamZam
well with a brass bucket from 1299H, which was used to draw water,
and a pulley from the end of the 14th century Hijira. In 1975, during
King Faisal's era, the old buildings housing the ZamZam well were
pulled down to widen the area around the Ka'aba. The work was
completed in a year.
Other pieces in the exhibition include: the case which was used to
cover the Maqaam-e-lbrahim before its replacement in the reign of the
late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz,and two brass crescents of a minaret of
the Holy Mosque from 1299H.
A beautiful and intricately carved gypsum window of the Prophet's
Mosque from the first Saudi extension has been imaginatively
exhibited with a photograph below showing it tilted.
There are also many inscriptions on stone recording the contributions
of the Mamluk Sultan Abu Sa'iid Jaqmaq 852H, a marble slab on which
is engraved the name of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III 983H, and the
rain gutter of the Holy Ka'aba made of wood and plated with gold on
the outside, and covered with lead inside.
The Museum is a neat, well organised place, and one can happily
spend many hours there, browsing through the exhibits. In keeping
with the care and concern exhibited by early caliphs, the late King
Abdulaziz, who established the modern Saudi state, devoted his
attention to the care of the Two Holy Mosques and the well-being of
pilgrims. He ordered the expansions of the Two Holy Mosques and new
facilities and services. This has been continued by his successors
keeping in mind the needs of the time.
In 1988, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, laid the foundation for the third
Saudi expansion of the Mosque in Makkah. Three years earlier, an
equally ambitious expansion plan had been launched for the Prophet's
Mosque in Madinah. Both can now accommodate more than one million
pilgrims each. A notable feature of both projects is that all the
expansions have been done in a way that will permit future expansion
workS to be carried out, without disturbing the architecture, style
or look.
