Holy Pilgrimage Site for Muslims

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The Islamic religion's holiest city of Mecca (also known as Mekka or Makkah) is located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It's importance as a holy city for Muslims harks back to it being the birthplace of the founder of Islam, Mohammed.

The prophet Mohammed was born in Mecca, located approximated 50 miles from the Red Sea port city of Jidda, in the year 571 CE. Mohammed fled to Medina, now also a holy city, in the year 622 (ten years prior to his death).

Muslims face Mecca during their daily prayers and one of the key tenets of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a Muslim's life (known as Hajj). Approximately two million Muslims arrive in Mecca during the last month of the Islamic calendar for the Hajj.

This influx of visitors requires a great deal of logistical planning by the Saudi government. Hotels and other services in the city are stretched to the limit during the pilgrimage.

The most holy site within this holy city is the Great Mosque. Within the Great Mosque sits the Black Stone, a large black monolith that is central to worship during the Hajj. In the Mecca area are several additional sites where Muslims worship.

Saudi Arabia is closed to tourists and Mecca itself is off limits to all non-Muslims. Road blocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. The most celebrated incident of a non-Muslim visiting Mecca was the visit by the British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton (who translated the 100 stories of the Arabian Knights and discovered the Kama Sutra) in 1853. Burton disguised himself as an Afghani Muslim to visit and write Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca.

Mecca sits in a valley surrounded by low hills; it's population is approximately 550,000. Though Mecca is definitely the religious capital of Saudi Arabia, remember that the Saudi political capital is Riyadh.

Mecca , city in western Saudi Arabia, capital of Al Ḩijāz (Hejaz) Province, near Jiddah. Situated in a narrow valley surrounded by the barren hills of the Sirat Mountains, Mecca is a picturesque city of boulevards, shops, open-air markets, and stone houses. Its location on several trade routes has made the city commercially important since ancient times.

Mecca is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, and therefore the most sacred of the Muslim holy cities. Each year, during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijja, almost 2 million Muslims make a pilgrimage (or hajj) to Mecca. Islamic law strictly forbids non-Muslims from visiting Mecca, and punishment is death for those caught violating this mandate. Foremost among important sites in Mecca is the al-Haram, or Great Mosque, which sits in the centre of the city and boasts seven minarets. Mecca was a religious centre before the time of Muhammad, and several holy sites within the sacred precincts of al-Haram had religious significance in pre-Islamic times. The Kaaba 梬hich Muslims face when they worship anywhere in the world梚s a windowless cube-shaped building in the courtyard of al-Haram, and is believed to have been built by the Hebrew patriarch Abraham. In the south-eastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone, supposedly given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel. Also within the precincts of the mosque is the sacred well known as the Zamzam (Zemzem), which was reputedly used by Hagar, the mother of Abraham's son Ishmael.

Although the annual pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca is the city抯 major source of economic prosperity and activity, industrial production of furniture, pottery, and textiles has brought some economic diversity to the city. Large fairs and celebrations are also held during the month of the pilgrimage, during which the population of Mecca swells with Muslims who have come to worship.

The city is first mentioned by the Egyptian geographer Ptolemy, who in the 2nd century ad called it Makoraba. From the time of Muhammad, Mecca was besieged on various occasions. It was taken by the Egyptians in the 13th century. In the 16th century control passed to Turkey. From 1517 the sharifs (descendants of Muhammad through Hasan, son of Muhammad's son-in-law Ali) governed Mecca for the Turks. The latter were driven from the city in 1916 by Grand Sharif Husein ibn Ali, later first king of Al Ḩijāz. In 1924 the city was occupied by Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, then sultan of Najd (Nejd), who made Mecca the religious capital of Saudi Arabia.

eva

di dalam bod military, police and security agency kami ada berbincang mengenai perisikan satelite.. so kat sini eva paste link tersebut ... dan dlm tu ada picture mengenai Kota Mekah dan Madinah.. mudah-mudahan ianya menjadikan kita lebih insaf.. sila click kat bawah nie:

masjidil haram dan masjid nabawi from the sky