Were there no places sacred before Kaaba?

The writer has a very annoying habit to get into things that are not touched at all. Kaaba indeed was the first sacred place on earth which was rebuilt by Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ismail (peace be upon them both). It was already built but was further built and repaired by them.
As per the writer, what if someone doesn’t like the faith of Abraham? The answer to that question is that there is definitely some problem with the one who doesn’t like that faith. If one likes the man-made false beliefs, then there is definitely some serious problem.
Why was Abraham chosen for this?
Quran calls him as KhalilUllah (a friend of Allah) and he was of exceptional character. He even had immense pity for the big sinners that were to be destroyed by God. He had immense knowledge even as a child and God chose Him for this reason and other reason that God knows best.
The writer even has problems with the reason why God chose Abraham. He says that if it was due to being religious, then there were other religious people as well. This is an absurd claim and one that shows ill-knowledge. Prophets are people chosen by God to spread the message of God, to bring mankind back to the path of God and act as an example. If God had sent Angels, then people would have argued that the religion is very difficult as Angels are different from humans. If God had sent a book directly from the sky, people would have different in terms of its interpretation and practicalities. Therefore, God sends a human being who is like others in terms of the human needs such as eating, sleeping etc. Prophets are the best of people and human beings cannot argue on interpretations as Prophets are walking examples and interpretations of the message they bring.
The Ka`bah is the First House of Worship
Allah said,
[إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ]
(Verily, the first House appointed for mankind) for all people, for their acts of worship and religious rituals. They go around the House [in Tawaf], pray in its vicinity and remain in its area in I`tikaf.
[لَلَّذِى بِبَكَّةَ]
(was that at Bakkah,) meaning, the Ka`bah that was built by Ibrahim Al-Khalil, whose religion the Jews and Christians claim they follow. However, they do not perform Hajj to the house that Ibrahim built by Allah's command, and to which he invited the people to perform Hajj. Allah said next, i
[مُبَارَكاً]
(full of blessing), sanctified,
[وَهُدًى لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ]
(and a guidance for Al-`Alamin.)
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Dharr said; "I said, `O Allah's Messenger! Which Masjid was the first to be built on the surface of the earth' He said, `Al-Masjid Al-Haram (in Makkah).' I said, `Which was built next' He replied `Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem).' I said, `What was the period of time between building the two' He said, `Forty years.' He added,
«ثُمَّ حَيْثُ أَدْرَكْتَ الصَّلَاةَ فَصَلِّ، فَكُلُّهَا مَسْجِد»
(Wherever (you may be, and) the prayer becomes due, perform the prayer there, for the whole earth was made a Masjid.)'' Al-Bukhari and Muslim also collected this Hadith.