A new exhibit at the British Museum explores the history of Islams most sacred journey: the road to Mecca. The purpose of great national collections like the Smithsonian or the British Museum must be to explain the world to itself. And in just this spirit, the British Museum has launched an exhibition that focuses not on art or artefacts but on the history and meaning of Islams kinetic heart, the hajj. At its center stands the mysterious Kaaba, a cubic building containing a meteorite venerated in pre-Islamic Arabia. Read more
Practitioners of an ancient religion visit a chunk of black stone (possibly a meteorite) more ancient even than their own faith. After a few times around the old Kaaba, they can retire and check their email.