History UsefulNotes / Mecca

Mecca is one of the three holiest cities in Islam, alongside Medina and UsefulNotes/{{Jerusalem}}, and the only one that has any role in Muslim worship. This is because of two reasons. First, Mecca contains the Kaaba, a black cube-shaped building in the center of Masjid al-Haram, the largest mosque in the world. The Kaaba is the place where all Muslims face towards during prayer, as dictated by QS 2:144, in which Muhammad was instructed to switch the direction where he was facing from the "heavens" to the Masjid al-Haram (while the word "heavens" is ambiguous, before the decree, Muslims followed the Jews' cue and worshipped towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem). In addition to prayer, Muslims also traditionally position dead bodies about to be buried so they face the direction of the Kaaba. The second reason is that, according to QS 22:27-29, all Muslims are required to visit the Masjid al-Haram at least once in their lifetimes to circumambulate the Kaaba and perform animal sacrifices. This second rule leads to the fifth Pillar of Islam: Hajj (lit. "pilgrimage"). Each year, millions of able-bodied and financially well Muslims visit Mecca to perform pilgrimage during the first thirteen days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic calendar. Traditionally, pilgrims boarded caravans crossing the Arabian desert to reach Mecca, a perilous journey that took months if not years, but the advent of modern technology has made the journey far easier to attempt. Still, the sheer number of people congregating during a very specific time of the year makes Hajj an almost prohibitively-expensive undertaking, while the yearly quota that Saudi Arabia imposes towards each foreign country means an average person would have to queue for decades before they can finally visit Mecca. This annual ritual has caused the word Mecca to enter the English lexicon, designating a place that is frequented by people (e.g. tourist mecca, sports mecca).

As a last bit of note, Mecca is off-limits to non-Muslims. The same held true in Medina until 2021; now, only the Masjid an-Nabawi is closed to non-Muslims.[[note]]All of the holiest sites of Mecca fall within its ''haram'' areas (i.e., those open only to Muslims), and Medina's holiest site remains ''haram''. However, virtually all of Mecca is within its ''haram'', while even before 2021 a large part of Medina was outside of its ''haram''.[[/note]] This didn't prevent a few high-profile non-Muslims from disguising themselves as a believer and visiting however (British explorer Richard Francis Burton famously circumcised himself to gain entry).

Mecca ('''Arabic:''' مكة), also known as Makkah from its proper Arabic pronunciation, officially ''Makkah al Mukarramah'' (مكة المكرمة, "Mecca the Noble") is a city in western UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia. Although it is neither the country's capital nor the largest city, it is far more well-known than UsefulNotes/{{Riyadh}}, the capital, and one of the most famous cities in the world because of the role it plays in the world's second largest religion, UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}.

As a last bit of note, Mecca is off-limits to non-Muslims. The same held true in Medina until 2021; now, only that city's main pilgrimage site, ''Al-Masjid an-Nabawi'' ("The Prophet's Mosque"), is closed to non-Muslims.[[note]]All of the holiest sites of Mecca fall within its ''haram'' areas (i.e., those open only to Muslims), and Medina's holiest site remains ''haram''. However, virtually all of Mecca is within its ''haram'', while even before 2021 a large part of Medina was outside of its ''haram''.[[/note]] This didn't prevent a few high-profile non-Muslims from disguising themselves as a believer and visiting however (British explorer Richard Francis Burton famously circumcised himself to gain entry).

As a last bit of note, Mecca is off-limits to non-Muslims (the same holds true in Medina).[[note]]While all of the holiest sites of each city fall within their respective ''haram'' areas (i.e., those open only to Muslims), a large part of Medina is outside of its ''haram'', while virtually all of Mecca is within its ''haram''.[[/note]] This didn't prevent a few high-profile non-Muslims from disguising themselves as a believer and visiting however (British explorer Richard Francis Burton famously circumcised himself to gain entry).

Aside from its role as a holy city, however, Mecca is surprisingly rather unimportant in politics. There is no unambiguous reference to the city before the rise of Islam (the city of "Macoraba" mentioned by Greek geographer Ptolemy c. 2nd century CE might refer to Mecca, but it is still disputed) and no mention of a bustling trade around the area; trade in Arabia was mainly concentrated in the south in present-day UsefulNotes/{{Yemen}} or the northwest in present-day UsefulNotes/{{Jordan}}. Many secular scholars have even argued that Mecca was born by Islam, not the other way around. Still, they did concede that the area in and around Mecca was a major pagan pilgrimage site and that the Kaaba predated Islam (though due to decay and destruction, it had been continuously rebuilt over the years; the modern structure dates back to 1626). After Islam, the city serves as a pilgrimage site first and the foremost and is seldom used as the center of a state, kingdom, or empire (there was a brief period in the early 20th century when it was used as a base of the Sharif of Hejaz, following the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire]]). However, those who conquer the city and Medina (or rather the Masjid al-Haram and Masjid an-Nabawi, Medina's largest mosque and Muhammad's burial place) can claim the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (خادم الحرمين الشريفين, ''Khadim al-Haramayn ash-Sharifayn''). Currently, the Saudi monarch holds the title, having wrestled it from the Sharif of Hejaz in 1926.

Geographically, Mecca is nestled in a narrow valley on the western side of the Hejaz Mountains. It is also, like most of the Hejaz, infamously very ''hot'', thanks to the fair amount of humidity that keeps the blisteringly hot weather of the desert even into the winter. Despite the low precipitation, Mecca had seen seasonal floods before dams were built, thanks to its relatively low-lying location.

Mecca is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport, located in the coastal city of Jeddah 100 km to the west. Jeddah is the largest city in the Hejaz, the region that Mecca is part of, and has a long history of welcoming Hajj pilgrims who arrived by sea. Owing to its coastal location, Hejaz is more culturally diverse and less conservative than the Najd, the home of the Saudi monarchy, though the Saudi control over the area has eroded this. Mecca used to have lots of historical buildings, many of which have been demolished by the Saudi government, partly for redevelopment and partly to prevent them from turning into shrines, which is forbidden under the Wahhabi orientation that the government officially adopts. Since the oil boom, there has also been many construction projects, including Abraj al-Bait, a massive hotel composed of seven skyscrapers with a clock tower at the top that overlooks the Masjid al-Haram, to cater the swelling number of pilgrims arriving every year.

Mecca is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport, located in the coastal city of Jeddah 100 km to the west. Jeddah is the largest city in the Hejaz, the region that Mecca is part of, and has a long history of welcoming Hajj pilgrims who arrived by sea. Owing to its coastal location, Hejaz is more culturally diverse and less conservative than the Najd, the home of the Saudi monarchy, though the Saudi control over the area has eroded this. Mecca used to have lots of historical buildings, many of which have been demolished by the Saudi government, partly for redevelopment and partly to prevent them from turning into shrines, which is forbidden under the Wahhabi orientation that the government officially adopts. Since the oil boom, there has also been many construction projects, including Abraj al-Bait, a massive hotel composed of seven skycrapers with a clock tower at the top that overlooks the Masjid al-Haram, to cater the swelling number of pilgrims arriving every year.

As a last bit of note, Mecca is off-limits to non-Muslims (the same holds true in Medina). This didn't prevent a few high-profile non-Muslims from disguising themselves as a believer and visiting however (British explorer Richard Francis Burton famously circumcised himself to gain entry).

Mecca was the birthplace and hometown of UsefulNotes/TheProphetMuhammad. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad received the first verses of Literature/TheQuran through the ArchangelGabriel on Jabal al-Nur, a hill outside Mecca, in 610 CE. Subsequently, he attempted to preach the message among Meccans for 12 years, gaining followers but also enemies, the latter of whom forced him to emigrate to Yathrib, a city some 450 km to the northwest. Yathrib, renamed ''Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah'' or simply Medina, was the place where he consolidated the Muslim community, but Muhammad always dreamed of returning back and conquering his hometown, a dream that was realized eight years later.

Aside from its role as a holy city, however, Mecca is surprisingly rather unimportant in politics. There is no unambiguous reference to the city before the rise of Islam (the city of "Macoraba" mentioned by Greek historian Ptolemy c. 2nd century CE might refer to Mecca, but it is still disputed) and no mention of a bustling trade around the area, which was mainly concentrated in northwestern Arabia. Many secular scholars have even argued that Mecca was born by Islam, not the other way around. Still, they did concede that the area in and around Mecca was a major pagan pilgrimage site and that the Kaaba predated Islam (though due to decay and destruction, it had been continuously rebuilt over the years; the modern structure dates back to 1626). After Islam, the city serves as a pilgrimage site first and the foremost and has never been used as the center of any state, kingdom, or empire. However, those who conquer the city and Medina (or rather the Masjid al-Haram and Masjid an-Nabawi, Medina's largest mosque and Muhammad's burial place) can claim the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (خادم الحرمين الشريفين, ''Khadim al-Haramayn ash-Sharifayn''). Currently, the Saudi monarch holds the title, having wrestled it from the Sharif of Hejaz in 1926.

Mecca is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport, located in the coastal city of Jeddah 95 km to the west. Jeddah is the historical capital of Hejaz, the region that Mecca is part of, and has a long history of welcoming Hajj pilgrims who arrived by sea. Owing to its coastal location, Hejaz is more culturally diverse and less conservative than the Najd, the home of the Saudi monarchy, though the Saudi control over the area has eroded this. Mecca used to have lots of historical buildings, many of which have been demolished by the Saudi government, partly for redevelopment and partly to prevent them from turning into shrines, which is forbidden under the Wahhabi orientation that the government officially adopts. Since the oil boom, there has also been many construction projects, including Abraj al-Bait, a massive hotel composed of seven skycrapers with a clock tower at the top that overlooks the Masjid al-Haram, to cater the swelling number of pilgrims arriving every year.

Aside from its role as a holy city, however, Mecca is surprisingly rather unimportant in politics. There is no unambiguous reference to the city before the rise of Islam (the city of "Macoraba" mentioned by Greek historian Ptolemy c. 2nd century CE might refer to Mecca, but it is still disputed) and no mention of a bustling trade around the area, which was mainly concentrated in northwestern Arabia. Many secular scholars have even argued that Mecca was born by Islam, not the other way around. Still, they did concede that the area in and around Mecca was a major pagan pilgrimage site and that the Kaaba predated Islam (though due to decay and destruction, it had been continuously rebuilt over the years; the modern structure dates back to 1626). After Islam, the city serves as a pilgrimage site first and the foremost and has never been used as the center of any state, kingdom, or empire. However, those who conquered the city and Medina can claim the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (خادم الحرمين الشريفين, ''Khadim al-Haramayn ash-Sharifayn''). Currently, the Saudi monarch holds the title, having wrestled it from the Sharif of Hejaz in 1926.

Mecca is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport, located in the coastal city of Jeddah 95 km to the west. Jeddah is the historical capital of Hejaz, the region that Mecca is part of, and has a long history of welcoming Hajj pilgrims who arrived by sea. Owing to its coastal location, Hejaz is more culturally diverse and less than conservative than the Najd, the home of the Saudi monarchy, though the Saudi control over the area has eroded this. Mecca used to have lots of historical buildings, many of which have been demolished by the Saudi government, partly for redevelopment and partly to prevent them from turning into shrines, which is forbidden under the Wahhabi orientation that the government officially adopts. Since the oil boom, there has also been many construction projects, including Abraj al-Bait, a massive hotel composed of seven skycrapers with a clock tower at the top that overlooks the Masjid al-Haram, to cater the swelling number of pilgrims arriving every year.