Makkah Museum, formerly known as Al Zaher Palace Museum is one of the most prominent museums in Makkah and is a center of Islamic culture and heritage.
It has artifacts and historic items ranging from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to present.
The palace by itself has a remarkable and grand architectural design. It covers an area of more than 2,700 square meter, of which 2,200 sq. meter is the ground floor, and the remaining area of 500 sq. meter includes a garden surrounding the main building. The garden is located at the front of the main entrance surrounded by a fountain and areas planted with trees and green plants. The palace is built with carved stone and carved in Islamic architectural style, both in terms of the internal distribution of rooms, halls, and villas, or the external configuration of the building. The ceilings are reinforced with concrete, which helped to maintain its strength and durability. Although some walls were influenced by the factors of time, it still shows the appearance of luxury and beauty that characterized the days when the palace was built in brilliance.
1- The door of the Holy Kaaba 1045H (1636) made in Sultan Murad Khan’s era
2- A wooden door of the Holy Mosque dating to the early 14th century;
3- A copper-plated leaf of a door from the pulpit of Sultan Sulaiman bin Salim Khan in the Holy Mosque, which he ordered made in 966H (1559);
4- A marble arch facade of one of the doors to the Holy Mosque 984H (1576)
5- The door of the Ottoman pulpit in the Prophet’s Mosque which was made at the order of Sultan Murad III in 998H (1590);
6- Next to the staircase is the brass head of the pulpit made in the era of Sultan Sulaiman Al-Qanoony in the 16th century.
7- A brass crescent 1299H (1882), the crescent of the main minaret of the Prophet’s Mosque from the early 14th century Hijrah.
8- The library section has some rare Qur’an copies and manuscripts.
9- The case which was used to cover the Maqaam-e-Ibrahim before its replacement in the reign of King Fahd.
10- One can see inscriptions on stone recording the contributions of the Mamluk Sultan Abu Said Jaqmaq 852H (1448)
11- A copper door of the Holy Mosque dating to the first Saudi era
12- A door of the Prophet’s Mosque from the reign of King Abdul Aziz
13- A copper pillar, which used to be one of the pillars around the Mataf, removed during the first Saudi era of the Holy Mosque
14- Lock and key of the Holy Kaaba 1309H (1892) made during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II
15- An inscription on marble marking the date of the construction of the door and parts of the Holy Mosque that were damaged by fire during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan An-Nasir Faraj bin Bargog in 804H (1402).
16- Also, on view are one of the pillars of the Holy Kaaba with its wooden base and crown dating back to the construction by Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair in 65H (685), a rocky base that was holding the pillar
17- A copper fence which used to be on one of the windows of the Prophet’s Mosque dating back to the Saudi era
18- In the Zamzam section are displayed the old railing of the Zamzam well with a brass bucket dated to 1299H (1882) used to draw water.
19- A beautiful and intricately carved gypsum window of the Prophet’s Mosque from the first Saudi extension is also exhibited.
20- And a marble slab engraved with the name of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III 983H (1575).
The exhibition is open from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on all weekdays. During Haj it is open all days of the week.
Recently, the museum joined the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage and was dedicated to the history of Makkah.
