Babur'Rahme Minaret

There is an interesting detail in the history of the minarets of the Mosque of the Prophet: during the time of the Prophet, no minaret had yet been added to the mosque. The first muezzin, Bilal, would climb to the roof of a tall house near the mosque or ascend to a special pole/platform called 'üstüvâne' located on the qibla side of the mosque by climbing a rope. Sources indicate that the exact location of this 'üstüvâne' (column/platform) is near the southern wall on the qibla side of the Mosque of the Prophet. The muezzin would climb here holding onto the rope and recite the call to prayer. In later periods, a minaret was built near this historical location; the Bab-ı Rahme (Rahmet Gate) Minaret continues this tradition as one of the historical minarets of the mosque. During the Ottoman period, the Mosque of the Prophet acquired multiple minarets; today, there are dozens of minarets in the mosque. [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, 'Minaret' article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/minare; 'Mosque of the Prophet' article; Ibn Ishak al-Harbî, p. 368]