Here are two signs from two different hotel rooms. They are supposed to indicate the direction of Mecca from the hotel room. I asked one of the hotel staff how to read the sign, and he just shrugged. I suspect he did not understand my question. Gentle reader, any suggestions on how to read these signs? They are plastic disks glued firmly to the wall, so their rotation must have been on purpose as they do not move. Why do the arrows point up or down? Does the visual rotation of the ka'bah relate to the interpretation of the arrow? Why is the arrow not three dimensional? Is it an implied compass direction assuming north to be the top?
3 comments:
While I am not an expert on either Islam or praying, my guess would be to point one's face toward the point of the arrow to be properly placed. Why is the building askew? Could it be the relative placement of the building to some invisible plane(s) of Mecca?
Yes, I thought that one should put ones face in the direction of the arrow, but then you pray, you bow, so how can the arrow pointing up be helpful? I think you have hit the mark with the invisible planes. I thought the building would be askew because it is some kind of three dimensional direction for understanding the arrow. Alternatively, now that I think about it, maybe the plaque just indicates the wall one should face, but then why not just show the building (I think it is a representation of the ka'ba in Mecca), and not bother with the confusing arrow which seems to shift around?
Nice Post Hotel in Mecca
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