Al-Ka'ba Al-Musharrafa( The Holy Ka'ba: A Study of the Collection of Locks and Keys Kept at Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul)

28 by 21.5cm., (6) 129 pp. (Arabic), colour and b/w illustrations. This book describes the collection of 55 locks and keys of the Holy Ka'ba preserved at Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. The book consists of two parts. The first part gives information on the history of the collection, the shape and the mechanism of the locks and keys, the materials used in manufacturing, the manufacturer, if known, the motifs and inscriptions carved on the locks. The second part describes each of the locks and keys, in chronological order according to the Abbasid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods.