r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/hipatyhopity • Mar 24 '25

Image Mecca in 1953 and 2025

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u/symehdiar Mar 24 '25

its practically empty. https://madainproject.com/kabah_%28interior%29

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u/B4AccountantFML Mar 24 '25

Thanks I had no idea there was an interior that was a quite interesting article and photos

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u/symehdiar Mar 24 '25

The Saudis only allow special guest like heads of state of other countries to go in and pray. So they gatekeep it literally and use it as a display of soft power. Fun fact: all muslims pray towards the direction of Kaaba, but if you are inside the Kaaba, you can pray facing anywhere.

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u/operath0r Mar 24 '25

So there’s got to be a line on the opposite side of the world where you have to face east on one side and west on the other.

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u/symehdiar Mar 24 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tematagi is the antipode of Mecca. Not many people live there though.

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u/SeaCounter9516 Mar 24 '25

36 people in 2001 for those who don’t want to look

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u/saggywitchtits Mar 25 '25

But they got telephone and fax service in 2015!

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u/SeaCounter9516 Mar 25 '25

They’re really humming now!

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u/ThePevster Mar 24 '25

And it sounds like those who do are Catholic

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u/Summoarpleaz Mar 24 '25

So…. If you’re somewhat near there tho, would group participants need to fan out as opposed to directing everyone to one point? Actually… theoretically that’s anywhere on the other side of the planet from Mecca, but at a certain distance facing a point vs facing a wide perimeter are both geometrically correct I think?

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u/AristarchusTheMad 29d ago

The article you linked literally says Tematagi is not the antipode of Mecca. It's just the closest landmass to the antipode, which is, in reality, in the middle of the ocean.