Chapter 6
2 May 2022 Chad Doell & Dan Gibson
Abstract
The earliest Mecca facing qibla that Gibson located is found at Jebels Says (or Usays) in a qasr built by Caliph Walid. This Qibla was used 88 years after the founding of Islam, or around 707 CE. The Umayyad qasrs built at the foot of Jebal Says are pre-Islamic qasrs without qiblas, early Islamic qasrs with Petra-facing qiblas, later qasrs with Between qiblas, and finally the prominent qasr built by Caliph Walid which faces Mecca. In this chapter Gibson explores the development of the Mecca qibla, and the events taking place in the rest of the Ummayad world.
In the above image, Walid’s Mecca-facing Qasr is #5. Qasr 3 faces the Between Qibla. Some of the earlier Qasrs do not seem to have a clear Qibla direction.
Above is a timeline of new mosque construction from the beginning of the Islamic calendar through 200 years.
A timeline of first Mecca-facing mosques
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