Qiblah (قبلة, also transliterated as Kiblah) is an Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslimprays during Salah. Most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the qiblah.
First Qibla;Unlike the biography stories that are composed of traditional rumor compilations, based on text and archaeological research, en:Patricia Crone and Michael Cook hypothesized that the "Masjid al-Haram" was not located in Mecca, but in Almasjid AlAqsa in Jerusalem not Alpetra.
Canadian archeology and Islamic history researcher Dan Gibson discovered that the oldest mosque,palace and cemetery positionings point to Petra. He found that it was the place where Muhammad and the first Muslims lived, and that the first direction of qibla for the Muslims was facing Petra.[2][3] No, it wasn't facing Petra but Almasjid AlAqsa as mentioned in Quran.
↑Dan Gibson: Qur'ānic geography: a survey and evaluation of the geographical references in the qurãn with suggested solutions for various problems and issues. Independent Scholars Press, Surrey (BC) 2011, ISBN 978-0-9733642-8-6