The Hajj My Special Journey My special journey

The Hajj My Special Journey My special journey

The Hajj Muslims go on a pilgrimage called the Hajj Muslims all over the world try to go on Hajj. This is a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, which is in Saudi Arabia. More than three million Muslims go on the pilgrimage every year!

How people travel to Mecca In some countries people paint pictures on their walls to show they travelled to Mecca.

What can you see? Have a look at the pictures. Talk about the pictures with the person beside you. Identify the different modes of transport in each picture.

The Great Mosque of Mecca This is the Great Mosque of Mecca. A visit to this mosque is part of the Hajj pilgrimage. The Ka’ba is in the centre of the mosque. It is very important to Muslims because the Ka’ba is the house of Allah. Muslims must face towards Mecca when they pray. This is called the Qibla (direction to Mecca). The Qibla is a type of compass.

A universal Qibla finder will show you the direction of Mecca. This universal Qibla finder is in the Chester Beatty Library.

What is a mosque? A mosque is a building that is used for worship by Muslims. The design of mosques can be very different from country to country. The mosque on the South Circular Road, Dublin is a converted Presbyterian church. This image of a mosque is in the Chester Beatty Library. The Great Mosque in Xi’an, China has traditional Chinese architectural features.

Inside a mosque minaret mihrab minbar prayer hall

The Great Mosque of Mecca This is a picture of the Great Mosque of Mecca. The Triumph of the Holy Places This picture is in the Chester Beatty Library

Pop quiz 1. What is the name of the pilgrimage a Muslim person must try to go on at least once in their life? 2. Mecca is a city in which country? 3. What is the Ka‘ba? 4. Where would you find the Ka’ba? 5. What is this? What is it for? 6. What is the name of this picture? 7. What is the name of the building where you would find this picture?

Paired/group activity Work with the person beside you to make a model of a mosque. Following instructions/teamwork/cooperation. You may also answer the questions on the pop quiz. Enjoy and good luck!

Answers to the pop quiz 1. Hajj 2. Saudi Arabia 3. It is the house of Allah 4. In the Great Mosque of Mecca 5. Universal Qibla finder; it will show a Muslim the direction of Mecca so that they can pray 6. The Great Mosque of Mecca (The Triumph of the Holy Places) 7. The Chester Beatty Library

Talk with the person beside you about what you learnt today. Share two new pieces of information with your class.

Images The images, where stated, are copyrighted and cannot be used for other purposes. The Chester Beatty Library www. cbl. ie The Ulster Museum www. nmni. com/um BJ Design www. bjdesign. com/html/regions. html Creative Commons Flickr www. flickr. com/creativecommons