Latest: Rare images of Prophet Ibrahim’s shrine stone and footprints in Makkah released
Specially processed high-resolution images were taken of the Black Stone, the ancient rock set into the corner of the Kaaba in Makkah, the centre of the holiest site in Islam.
The official account of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque said it documented the Black Stone “with Focus Stack Panorama, which uses a technology in which images are combined with [different] clarity, in order to produce a single image with the greatest accuracy”.
The Black Stone, or Hajar Al Aswad in Arabic, was placed by the Prophet Mohammed in the Kaaba in 605 CE.
Photo stacking is a process of stitching together hundreds of images taken of different parts of the subject at different focal lengths to create a single shot in high resolution. It is often used to create detailed landscapes and close-up macro shots.
Shot over seven hours, the 1,050 photos took the team another 50 hours to combine to produce the 49,000-megapixel image. For comparison, an iPhone 12 has a 12-megapixel camera.
The Black Stone comprises eight small rocks affixed to a large stone encased in a silver frame.
The Black Stone is the point from which the circumambulation begins and ends for tawaf, the ritual where pilgrims go around the Kaaba seven times anticlockwise to complete the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimage.
Pictures of the Black Stone took the internet by storm as hashtag #BlackStone trended on Twitter in Saudi Arabia and people shared the never-before-seen pictures of the stone, which is deemed sacred by Muslims owing to its rich history.
The Grand Mosque in Makkah – in pictures
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Saudis and foreign residents circumambulate (Tawaf) the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Makkah, as authorities partially resume the year-round Umrah for a limited number of pilgrims amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. AFP -
Saudis and foreign residents circumambulate the Kaaba (Tawaf) in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Makkah, as authorities partially resume the year-round Umrah for a limited number of pilgrims amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umra / AFP -
Saudis and foreign residents perform the Umrah in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Makkah, as authorities partially resume the year-round pilgrimage amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umra / AFP -
Saudis and foreign residents circumambulate the Kaaba (Tawaf) in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Makkah, as authorities partially resume the year-round Umrah for a limited number of pilgrims amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umra / AFP -
Muslims pray around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the first day of Umrah in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. A very small, limited number of people donning the white terrycloth garment symbolic of the Muslim pilgrimage circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday after Saudi Arabia lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place for months. Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah via AP -
Saudis and foreign residents arrive to circumambulate (Tawaf) the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Makkah as authorities partially resume the year-round Umrah for a limited number of pilgrims amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. / AFP -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque -
The first group of Muslims, allowed in the mosque compound by appointment, arrive at the Grand Mosque to perform Umrah. Courtesy General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque
