#ka'aba

"Pilgrims praying around the Ka‘aba during one of the five daily prayers. To see and hear the multitude of nearly three million souls—praying around the Ka‘aba, reciting their invocations to Allah, their voices as one as they speak the supreme supplication, 'Labbaika Allahumma, Labbaik!' (Here I am, O God, at Thy command, Here I am!)—is an overwhelming reminder of the unifying principles of the hajj, the dense crowd sweeping in an almost impossible, undulating wave."  — Ahmed Mater

Eid Mubarak.

“Most of Mecca is taken up by unregulated development and informal settlements. During the hajj and Ramadan, these areas are even more crowded than at other times of year. Property ownership in these quarters seems to be unclear, and markers of state ownership can be found only nearer the Ka‘aba, where real estate prices are higher. All illegal buildings will be destroyed as part of the expansion of the Grand Mosque and the construction of new hotels. The houses shown here no longer exist.” —Ahmed Mater 

"A construction worker named Jibreel stands atop the highest minaret, one of the six towers used to call Muslims to prayer at the Grand Mosque, during its expansion. The developments throughout Mecca are immense, their ambitions signaled by a frenetic mass of cranes and bulldozers. The landscape of the holy city teems with skyscrapers; cranes and artificial lights clutter the skyline. Even the Ka‘aba is encroached upon, jostled among buildings that vie for space as the Mecca Royal Clock Tower, with its colossal crescent moon, rises above all."  — Ahmed Mater

“Building accommodations for pilgrims has dominated the infrastructure changes transforming Mecca’s landscape. There are now more than a hundred hotels, many built right around the Ka‘aba. These are the most luxurious, their rates reflecting their proximity, lavish facilities, and furnishings. Here, rooms cost up to $3,000 a night. Few can afford or justify such expense, although there are extremely wealthy pilgrims who have booked rooms for every night of the year, even though they will stay for only a week. The division that luxury hotels impose is anathema within the context of the dignified, fundamental leveling principles that are the very basis of the hajj. The core tenets of Islam, eloquently articulated by the rituals of the hajj and protected since the days of the Prophet, were never meant to compete with super luxurious hotels or brand names.” —Ahmed Mater