Another View Of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Here is another viewof Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

This post card is from Saudi Arabia and basically it featuresthe dome and minaret of Al-Masa'a. It is the third postcard with the same masjid in fact.

After this I will be uploading other postcards as well.

Love.

Al-Masjid Al-Haram (Holy Mosque), Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Hello and Assalam-o-Alaikum!

Here is my first post card for the blog.

I chose this nice piece from my little postcard collection as my first here. The postcard features the World's largest mosque and the holiest place for the Muslim World. It is also the prime destination of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The mosque complex covers an area of 356,800 square meters and can accommodate up to 820,000 worshipers during the Hajj.

The Haram was built in the 7th century and has been modified, rebuilt, and expanded on a regular basis ever since. Major expansions took place in the 1980s and further work is going on today.

The mosque is built around Holy Kaa'ba or qibla which is considered to be the home of Allah (Almighty God) on Earth. So all Muslims around the globe say their prayers facing towards Holy Kaa'ba. The Holy Mosque is the only mosque that has no qibla direction, since Muslims pray facing the Kaa'ba in the central courtyard. I mean to say that the direction like West, East or North are not specified like in any other mosque but the worshippers face the qibla for their prayers.

I planned to start posting post cards a little later but I am posting my first postcardon the request of a fellow collector Marie who is organizing an event on her blog by the name of 'Postcard Friendship Friday'. So today on Friday, 30th of January 2009, I post this postcard as my first on the blog.

I hope that all of you will like it.

Best Regards

Holy Kaa'ba In Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Here is another postcard from my collection. I have kept this post card since I was a child. This piece of collection was sent to my father by one of his friends Mr Shahid Naseem more than 20 years ago. The card was sent as a greeting card on the Eid day.

It is a 3-D sort of a card. I do not know exactly what such cards are called and I would appreciate if some of you can help me. Basically the card shows TWO different views of Holy Kaa'ba - A closed photo and a distant one. Both can be viewed by slightly moving or tilting the postcard's front side. (It was difficult to scan both images separately but one can clearly make out both the photos from the uploaded image). While a distant image is clearer in the picture, a closer look of the Kaa'ba's building can be observed towards left side of the postcard.

Although the card features the photos of Holy Kaa'ba which is located in Saudi Arabia, interestingly the postcard is "Made in Japan". On the back of the postcard, it states "Wonder Co., Tokyo, Made in Japan". I would also be grateful for some friends who can clear whether this postcard should be counted in postcard collection from Saudi Arabia or from Japan. Its manufactured in Japan but posted from Saudi Arabia.

I can also send a postcard from Afghanistan(Made in Afghanistan with landscapes or pictures of Afghanistan) to interested collectors with Pakistani Stamps for swap. Anyone interested?

Best Regard.