This magnificent temple, to which pilgrims resort from every quarter of
the globe where the religion of Islamism is practiced, is known by the
Mussulmans under the name of El Haram, or the temple of excellence. It
is situated nearly in the middle of the city, which is built in a
valley, having a considerable slope from the north to the south. It is
composed of the house of God, Beit Allah, or as it is called also, La
Kaaba; of the well of Zemzem, Bir Zemzem; of the Cobba, or place of
Abraham, Makham Ibrahim; of the places of the four orthodox rites, Makam
Hhaneffi, Makam Shaffi, Makam Maleki, and Makam Hhanbeli; of two Cobbas,
or chapels, El-Cobbatain; of an arch, called Babes-selem, (in the same
style as a triumphal arch,) near the place of Abraham; of El-Monbar or
the tribune for the priest; of the wooden staircase, Daureh, which leads
to the saloon of the house of God; of an immense court, surrounded by a
triple row of arches; of two smaller courts, surrounded with elegant
piazzas; of nineteen doors; and of seven towers, or minarets, five of
which adhere to the edifice, and the other two are placed between the
neighboring houses out of the inclosure.
La Kaaba, Beit Allah, or the house of God, is a quadrilateral tower, the
sides and angles of which are unequal, so that its plan forms a true
trapezium. The size of the edifice, and the black cloth which covers it,
make this irregularity disappear, and give to it the figure of a perfect
square. The black stone, Hhajera el Assouad, or heavenly stone, which
all true Mussulmans believe to have been brought thither by the angel
Gabriel, is raised forty-two inches above the surface, and is bordered
all round with a large plate of silver, about a foot broad. The part of
the stone that is not covered by the silver at the angle is almost a
semicircle, six inches in hight, by about eight inches diameter at its
base. El Bir Zemzem, or the well of Zemzem, is situated fifty-one feet
distant to the north-east of the black stone. It is about seven feet and
eight inches in diameter, and fifty-six feet deep to the surface of the
water. The brim is of fine white marble, five feet high. Tradition says
that this well was miraculously opened by the angel of the Lord for
Hagar, when she was nearly perishing from thirst in the desert with her
son Ishmael, after having been sent from Abraham’s house. The Kaaba, and
the stones of Ishmael, are situated nearly in the center of the temple,
and occupy the middle of an oval or irregular elliptical surface, which
forms a zone of thirty-nine feet wide round the edifice, upon which the
pilgrims make their tours round the Kaaba. It is paved with fine marble,
and is situated upon the lowest plane of the temple.
-------------------------------------------