The access stairway of Kaba (درج الكعبة) is a wooden staircase which is used to enter the Holy shrine situated at the heart of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The entry door into the Kaaba is approximately three meters above ground level. A removable stairway is needed to access the Kaaba during cleaning and for occasional visits.
The removable access staircase. Jay Bonner was contracted to design the ornament for this ceremonial portable stairway. The work was produced in carved high relief teak wood with inlaid lapis lazuli stone. Historically the wooden staircase on wheels was usually stored in the mosque between the arch-shaped gate of Banū Shaybah and the Zamzam Well.
circa 1840 CE
Ottoman Era
An older set of these can be seen in the Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques' Architecture, this particular staircase dates back to the reigh of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, circa 1824 CE. The Spanish explorer Ali Bey el Abbassi also mentioned another, possibly the predecessor of this particular staircase in his book Travels of Ali Bey; he writes, "The wooden stairs leading to the Kaaba, which are mounted upon six brass rollers."
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The Madain Project is an online archive of Abrahamic History and Archaeology.
Abrahamic History & Archaeology is the study of history and archaeology with respect to the three Abrahamic Faiths without considering the religious and theological aspects. The goal of Abrahamic History is to understand how and why the religious doctrines and behaviours have evlovled and changed over time. Searching for patterns in the evolution of significant cultural events such as the development of farming, the emergence of cities, or the collapse of major civilizations for clues of why and how these have influenced the three major Abrahamic religions.
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