Saudi Arabia releases first-ever photos of holy Kaaba stone
A closeup image of the black stone of the Kaaba in Mecca. (Saudi Arabia General Presidency of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque)
With Hajj pilgrimage limited due to COVID pandemic restrictions, Saudi Arabia published high-resolution images of the ancient holy stone of the Kaaba, a black masonry cube at the center of the ritual that Muslim community around the world pray to on a daily basis. This Kaaba stone is also called al-Hajar al-Aswad, or the Black Stone.
As per the inputs we have, 1050 high-resolution photos were taken in 7Hrs session. The images are of 49,000 Megapixels.
The stone, which Islamic tradition holds fell at the time of Adam and Eve, is framed in pure silver at the southeast corner of the Kaaba, itself said to have been constructed by Abraham and his son Ishmael.
During hajj, pilgrims perform Tawaf, or circumambulation, seven times counter-clockwise, around the Kaaba and they usually touch, kiss, or wave at al-Hajar al-Aswad stone when walking past it.
The reddish-black, oval-shaped stone is 30 cm in diameter and is located in the southeast corner of the Kaaba.
Image Credit: AFP
A picture released by the Saudi General Presidency for the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque shows a specially-processed image of the Prophet Ibrahim's shrine stone at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca. The photos offer a look at the ancient Islamic site that has never been seen before, using the stacked panoramic focus technology, combining images of different clarity to produce one highly accurate 49,000-megapixel image.
Image Credit: AFP