Masjid al Haram (The Holy Mosque) – Saudi Arabia

  Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām (المسجد الحرام‎ )   or the Grand Mosque  surrounds Islam's holiest place, the Kaaba Shareef. It is located in the city of Mecca and is the largest mosque in the world. Muslims around the world turn toward Kaaba while performing any prayer. The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square meters   including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 4 millions worshipers during the Hajj period, one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world. In 2007, the Masjid went under a extension project which is estimated to last until 2020. King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz plans to increase the Masjid's capacity to 2 million with two new minarets, bringing their total to 11 minarets. The cost of the project is 10.6-billion Us Dollers and after completion the mosque will house over 2.5 million worshipers. The mataf (the circumambulation areas around the Kaaba) will also see expansion and all closed spaces will be airconditioned.