“I have now described all the buildings within the inclosure of the
temple.”
“The gates of the Mosque are nineteen in number, and are distributed
about it without any order or symmetry.[FN#52]”
Burckhardt’s description of the gates is short and
[p.314] imperfect. On the eastern side of the Mosque there are
[p.315] four principal entrances, seven on the southern side, three in
the western, and five in the northern wall.
The eastern gates are the Greater Bab al-Salam, through which the
pilgrim enters the Mosque; it is close to the north-east angle. Next to
it the Lesser Bab al-Salam, with two small arches; thirdly, the Bab
al-Nabi, where the Prophet used to pass through from Khadijah’s house;
and, lastly, near the south-east corner, the Bab Ali, or of the Benu
Hashim, opening upon the street between Safa and Marwah.
Beyond the north-eastern corner, in the northern wall, is the Bab
Duraybah, a small entrance with one arch. Next to it, almost fronting
the Ka’abah, is the grand adit, “Bab al-Ziyadah,” also known as Bab
al-Nadwah. Here the colonnade, projecting far beyond the normal line,
forms a small square or hall supported by pillars, and a false
colonnade of sixty-one columns leads to the true cloister of the
Mosque.
