what is the wall in a mosque called that is toward mecca
Mihrab
title: Great Mosque of Mecca text: Great Mosque of Mecca The Great Mosque of Mecca, also called "Al-Haram Mosque" (, "the Forbidden Mosque", "the Holy Mosque" or "the Sacred Mosque") or "Grand Mosque of Makkah", is the largest mosque in the world, and surrounds the Islamic "Qiblah", that is the "Ka‘bah" in the Hejazi city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims face the Kaaba while praying. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the "Ḥajj", one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world, at least once in their lifetime when able to do so, including circumambulating the Kaaba. It title: Mihrab text: Mihrab Mihrab ( ', pl. ') is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the "qibla"; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a "mihrab" appears is thus the ""qibla" wall". "Mihrab" should not be confused with the "minbar", which is the raised platform from which an Imam (leader of prayer) addresses the congregation. The mihrab is located to the left of the minbar. The word is derived from Iranian mythology, as described in the "History" section below. The word title: Mecca text: to in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are extremely hot and consistently break the mark in the afternoon, dropping to in the evening. Rain usually falls in Mecca in small amounts scattered between November and January. Mecca houses Al-Haram Mosque, the largest mosque in the world. The mosque surrounds the Kaaba, which Muslims turn towards while offering daily prayer. This mosque is also commonly known as the "Ḥaram" or "Grand Mosque". As mentioned above, because of the Wahhabist hostility to reverence being paid to historic and religious buildings, Mecca has lost most of its heritage in recent years and few buildings title: Mosque text: roof held up by a multitude of columns). One of the finest examples of the hypostyle-plan mosques is the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) in Tunisia. Usually opposite the entrance to the prayer hall is the "qiblah" wall, the visually emphasized area inside the prayer hall. The qiblah wall should, in a properly oriented mosque, be set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca, the location of the Kaaba. Congregants pray in rows parallel to the qiblah wall and thus arrange themselves so they face Mecca. In the qiblah wall, usually at its center, title: Sacred architecture text: furniture; chairs and pews are absent from the prayer hall. Prayer halls contain no images of people, animals, and spiritual figures although they may be decorated with Arabic calligraphy and verses from the Qur'an on the walls. Usually opposite the entrance to the prayer hall is the "qibla wall", which is the visually emphasized area inside the prayer hall. The "qibla" wall is normally set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca. Congregants pray in rows parallel to the "qibla" wall and thus arrange themselves so they face Mecca. In the "qibla" wall, usually at its center, is the mihrab,