Why do Muslims have to pray towards Makkah?

Muslims pray towards the Kabah, a simple cube structure, which is in Makkah. Muslims believe it is the first and most ancient house of worship built for humankind, originally built by Adam, and subsequently rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael. The Kabah is simply a focal point, to unite the Muslim community through the world in their worship of God. God exists beyond time and space. If a Muslim does not know the direction of the Kabah, then he or she can pray anyway. It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the angels, and the book, and the messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and give zakah [obligatory charity]; to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient in pain [or suffering] and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing.(Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2 Verse 177).