The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة al-Ka‘bah; IPA: ) , also known as al-Kaʿbatu l-Mušarrafah (الكعبة المشرًّفة), al-Baytu l-ʿAtīq ( البيت العتيق "The Primordial House"), or al-Baytu l-Ḥarām (البيت الحرام "The Sacred House"), is a large cuboidal building located inside the mosque known as al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The mosque was built around the original Kaaba.
The Kaaba is the holiest place in Islam. The qibla, the direction Muslims face during prayer, is the direction from their location on Earth towards the Kaaba. It is around the Kaaba that ritual circumambulation is performed by Muslims during the Hajj (pilgrimage) season as well as during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).