The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة al-Kaʿbah, IPA: [ˈkɑʕbɐ]: "Cube")[1] is a cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam.[2] The building predates Islam, and, according to Islamic tradition, the first building at the site was built by Abraham. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every capable Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk several times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).[2] However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when two million pilgrims simultaneously gather to circle the building on the same day. Zam zam: The Well of Zamzam (or the Zamzam Well, or just Zamzam; Arabic: زمزم‎) is a well located within the Masjid al Haram in Mecca, 20 meters east of the Kaaba,[1] the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic belief, it was a miraculously-generated source of water from Allah (God), which began thousands of years ago when Ibrahim's infant son Ismael was thirsty and kept crying for water and was kicking at the ground when water gushed out. Millions of pilgrims visit the Well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink <b>...</b>