78 BULLETIN 148, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Kaaba) and the opposite wall (back) are 40 feet long; the two others 

 are about 35 feet long. The height is 50 feet. The Kaaba has one 

 door about 7 feet above the ground which is opened only twice or 

 three times in the year. Outside the building is covered with a 

 curtain of black silk, called the kiswa, adorned with inscriptions from 

 the Koran, which is furnished by the Egyptian Government every 

 year and sent with the pilgrimage caravan. The interior is adorned 

 with columns, numerous silver and golden lamps, and inscriptions on 

 the walls. In the northeast corner of the Kaaba, about 5 feet above 

 the ground, not far from the door, the black stone (al-hajar al-aswad) 

 is built into the wall, to which the building owes its sanctity. It is 

 an irregular oval of about 7 inches in diameter, the nature of which is 

 difficult to determine, because its surface is worn smooth by hand 

 touching and kissing. It is sometimes described as lava and sometimes 

 as basalt. The Mohammedans say that when the stone dropped from 

 Paradise it was milk white, but turned black from the sins and tears 

 of men. It now consists of three large pieces and several small pieces 

 stuck together and surrounded by a ring of stone which in turn is 

 held together by a silver band. 



Mohammed says that the Kaaba was the "first temple that was 

 founded for men, a blessed house and a guidance for all creatures" 

 (Koran, Sura iii, 90), and ascribes its erection to Abraham and his 

 son, Ismael (from whom the Arabs derive their descent, Koran ii, 

 121). But Mohammedan tradition goes farther back. According to 

 it the Kaaba was first constructed in heaven, where a model of it 

 still remains, 2,000 years before the creation of the world. Adam 

 erected the Kaaba on earth, selecting the stones from five sacred 

 mountains. After its destruction by the deluge Abraham and Is- 

 mael rebuilt it. Within the inclosure of the Haram a place is shown 

 where Abraham stood (Koran, Sura iii, 90), and Ismael and his 

 mother, Hagar, are said to have their graves within the precinct of 

 the great mosque. 



Every Moslem is bound to undertake once in his life a pilgrimage 

 to Mecca, and in the rites performed on this occasion are included the 

 circuit (twaj), around the Kaaba and the kissing of the black stone. 

 The stone is also the point toward which all Mohammedans face 

 during their devotions (the Kihla). 



The Mosque of Mecca has been so often ruined and repaired that 

 no traces of antiquity are to be found about it, although the Kaaba 

 was in existence before the time of Mohammed. As it now stands 

 the temple was rebuilt in 1627 A. D., after being thrown down by a 

 torrent. Height, 10 inches; length, 14 inches; width, 9 inches. 

 India. (Cat. No. 155157, U.S.N.M.) 



2. The Mosque of Mecca. — Painting on a stuccoed wooden tablet. 

 Height, 20 inches; width, llji inches. India. (Cat. No. 155301, 

 U.S.N.M.) 



