\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs24 In 1184 the Arab-Andalusian traveler Ibn Jubayr wrote, ôto gaze upon this shrine and the venerated house is a terrible thing tha
t fills the spirit with ecstasy and enchants hearts and minds. The black stone is six palms above the ground and those who are tall must stoop to kiss while those who are short must stretch. It is encircled by a silver band, whose brilliant white contras
ts with the black luster of the stone. All those who make circuits of the\cf2 \b \ATXht11101 Kaaba\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , throw themselves on it like children on a loving mother....ö\par
The historian Ibn Batuta, also born in Spain, describes the pilgrimage
to Mecca at the beginning of the fourteenth century as follows: ôThe great caravan made camp near the spring of Tabuk, and everyone drank from its waters. They stayed there for four days, to rest, to let the camels drink, and to prepare water for the jo
urney through the dangerous desert.ö On his arrival in \b \cf1 \ATXht53 Mecca\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , Ibn Batuta observed, ôit is a large city with its buildings packed close together. Mecca is located in a barren valley; but the benevolent invocation of Abrah
am has worked in its favor, and fruits of every kind have been introduced. While I was there I ate grapes, figs, peaches, and dates whose equal cannot be found anywhere in the world.ö\par
