THE BEST PLACES ON EARTH

Masjidil Haram The Mosque of Haram where the pilgrimage (Hajj) takes place each year in the Muslim lunar calendar month of Zulhijjah. Millions of pilgrims come from all over the world and unite. It is located in Saudi Arabia in the city of Mekkah. This is where the Ka'bah is housed, you can see it in the middle of the mosque in this ariel view of the mosque.You can also see the minarets from where in the old days the prayer call was made (before invention of loudspeakers) Though in this picture the mosque looks very small however in close-up it is very large and can accommodate a huge number of worshippers
The Holy Kaabah Also known as the House of God on Earth. Now before you go off thinking that Muslims believe God lives in there, let me clarify. The Holy Ka'bah is a building which is empty from the inside and is a marker which marks the point towards which all Muslims bow down in unity no matter where they are in the world. This signifies oneness and unity in belief and worship of One God. So God doesn't live in the Kab'ah but in fact it is the marker towards which all Muslims bow to show unity. One more thing to note is, God has referred to all mosques as his Houses in the Qur'an.
Kaabah Ariel View Another thing of interest about the Ka'bah is that there is another Ka'bah but it is located in the heavens parallel to the Kab'ah on Earth, it is the Ka'bah where the Angels go to pray and worship God. It has been told to us by the Prophet Mohammed (saw) that the Ka'bah in the Heavens is visited by 70,000 angels each day which never return to it but new angels arrive there each day (same in number). So just imagine how many angels exist!!
The Holy Kaabah at night time In this picture one can see the actual building of the Holy Kaabah since part of the cover is raised. You may be wondering, "Why cover the Holy Kaabah?". Well its just out of respect so that it looks nice and stays clean since the original building of the Kaabah is very simple and plain without any decoration or paint. The cover of the Kaabah is changed periodically and the old cover is cut into pieces and sold to people and the money collected goes to the poor.
HajarulAswat (left) & Door of the Kaabah(right) Hajarul aswat is a black stone located in one of the corners of the Kaabah. It was a gift from Allah for the believers - it is believed to be part of the Kaabah located in the Heavens. In the picture to the right you can see the door that leads into the Kaabah. It is partially covered by the cover of the Kaabah in this picture.
Maqam Ibrahim This is part of the Kabah is located outside the actual building of the Kaabah but is considered part of the inside (the Kaabah building extends to this point) It was a practice of the Prophet Mohammed (saw) to say Nafl (voluntary) prayers inside the Kaabah for extra reward. So the worshippers visiting the Kaabah can say prayers at this point and it is the same as saying the prayers inside the Kaabah.
Masjidil Haram A night time view of the Mosque where the Kaabah is housed. You can see the huge number of worshippers outside the mosque as well since it must be full to capacity.
Masjid Nabawi The Prophet Mohammed's (saw) mosque. This is located in Saudi Arabia in the city of Medina. In this picture one can see the domes, minarets and the roof of the mosque. In the far back you will notice a green dome, that is the dome of the Original Mosque from the time of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
Night time Ariel view of Masjid Nabawi The tall minaret's from which the prayer call is made can be heard all over the city. The smaller domes can be automatically slid open to allow the sun to shine inside the mosque and also for ventilation
The Raudzah of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) This is where the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is buried. Behind these golden doors is the grave of our beloved prophet Muhammad (saw). Many people visit the grave and say Fatihah (a small prayer) over the grave. However this is just reciting some Quranic Ayahs and not like a normal prayer. Muslims bow to or worship no one or thing wether dead or alive, we bow only to God and worship only One God, The God.
Inside the Masjid Nabawi These huge umbrellas facilitate the worshippers by allowing the compound to be covered during the day time when it is very hot and sunny or during rain.
Inside the Masjid Nabawi Inside the Prophets Mosque the beautiful domes and the intricately decorated pillars and wall all resonate with the rich Islamic culture and teachings
Inside the Masjid Nabawi The entire mosque is air conditioned and can house hundreds of thousands of worshippers at one time
Inside the Masjid Nabawi Along the walls are shelves stacked with copies of the Qurans' for worshippers to read. There are water coolers placed all around the mosque to quench the thirst of the people.
Inside the Masjid nabawi The floor of the mosque even in the hot desert sun always stays cool because of an intricate water cooling system running under the floors in the cortyards
Masjid Al Aqsa Here is the Mosque of Aqsa. You may note that it is in a very bad state, this is mainly due to the negligence of the Israeli authorities in renovating it. It may be the practice of some religions not to respect other religions however in Islam we are told to respect and tolerate all other religions and also allow them to build their places of worship with full freedom to practice their religions as long as the practices don't start going against the Islamic law.
Masjid Al Aqsa - The Dome Rock Well here it is the famous Dome rock we get to see so many of the times on our TV on CNN and other channels. This was a mosque built by Muslims now a temple where Prophet Abraham is buried. However the Masjid-Al-Aqsa (mosque of Aqsa) is behind this and is shown in the previous picture.