New 49,000-megapixel Saudi Kaaba photos send #BlackStone trending

The Black Stone, known to many by its Arabic name, "Al-Hajar Al-Aswad", is located in the Kaaba's south-eastern corner.

This is, in turn, the centrepiece of Islam's holiest of holies, the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Social media users have sent the hashtag #BlackStone trending around the Middle East by discussing the pictures which Saudi officials said were produced using a technique called "photo stacking".

Read more: Cancelling the Hajj? How conflict, disease often stopped pilgrimage to Mecca long before the coronavirus

The process involves shooting more than 1,000 individual images in seven hours, which were then combined into one larger image over the course of 48 hours.

Muslims believe the Prophet Muhamad fixed the rock in its current location in 605 AD.

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A post shared by رئاسة شؤون الحرمين (@reasahalharmain)

One Twitter user said "MASHA ALLAH ! Amazingly beautiful pictures of Hajre Aswad".

The Black Stone, safeguarded by a silver case, is actually eight smaller stones stuck into one larger rock.

The images come after a year in which access to the Kaaba for pilgrims was greatly limited, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

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