[SunkenCiv]

The Kaaba (the big cubic pile of rocks in the middle of the Grand Mosque) used to have a squat, Buddha-like idol seated atop it. The circling of the Kaaba seven times that goes on as part of "Islamic" ritual is actually quite ancient and points to the worship of a different critter altogether. Also, up until the 19th century or thereabouts, the now-subsumed avenue leading up to the Kaaba was still showing the signs of the line of statues that, uh, lined the avenue. The last of the statues was destroyed less than 200 years ago, if memory serves.

I've yet to view the vid, and I didn't add the GGG keyword, but I'm going to ping this for fun, under the subheading "Oh So Mysteriouso".

[ThanhPhero]

Mysterioso.

[wildbill]

Pretty interesting vid on the geography of cities and sites mentioned in the Koran and why Mecca may not be as holy as thought

[fishtank]

I'm interested to hear what you think about it after you get a chance to look at the alignments of all the early qiblas that pointed to Petra, NOT to Mecca........

[SunkenCiv]