An obscure comment in the Islamic Quran indicates that the Noble Association ([[Quraysh]]) in the Belly of Makah (Akkad in the Mesopotamian desert between [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Khalidiya,_Iraq Al-Kaldiya] and Carra) somehow hindered the Pilgrims from their Protected place of Worship. It is not easy to imagine what this means given the historically known facts which contradict the Islamic narrative.
The simplest explanation for the location of the Protected place of Worship would be the Temple Mount but it is not easy to imagine how Persians in Akkad could have hindered pilgrims from their protected place of worship if it was on the other side of the fertile Crescent. The standard a Islamic Narrative does have a good point that such was only possible if the place was in Makah. But the facts do show the earliest Masjids faced the Negev while Makah was in Mesopotamia. The only possible explanation is that the Qibla of the Quran has nothing to do with the direction that the Mosques were facing.