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MECCA
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{{Infobox City |
official_name = Holy City of Mecca
Makkah al-Mukarramahمكه المكرمه |
image_skyline = Mecca skyline.jpg|
image_map = Mecca location.jpg|
mapsize = 250px |
map_caption = Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia|
subdivision_type =
Provinces of Saudi Arabia Province|
subdivision_name =
Makkah Province Makkah|
leader_title =
Prince |
leader_name =
Abdulmajeed bin Abdul Aziz |
area_note = |
area_magnitude = |
area_total = ? |
area_land = ? |
area_water = ? |
population_as_of = 2004 |
population_total = 1,294,168 |
population_density = |
utc_offset = +3 |
timezone = |
latd= 21|latm= 29|lats=|latNS=N |
longd= 39|longm= 35|longs=|longEW=E |
footnotes = |
}}
:''This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see
Mecca (disambiguation)
'''Mecca'''
IPA {{IPA|/ˈmɛkə/}} or '''Makkah''' {{IPA|/ˈmækə/}} (in full: '''Makkah al-Mukarramah'''; {{lang-ar|
:ar:مكة المكرمة مكة المكرمة}}) is the capital city of
Saudi Arabia's
Makkah province, in the historic
Hijaz region. It has a population of 1,294,168 (2004 census). The city is located at
{{coor dm|21|25|N|39|49|E|}}, 73
kilometres (45
mile mi) inland from
Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres (909
foot (unit of length) ft) above sea level. It is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the
Red Sea.
The city is revered as the holiest site of
Islam, and a
Hajj pilgrimage to it is required of all able-bodied
Muslims who can afford to go, at least once in their lifetime. Muslims regard the
al-Masjid al-Haram (''The Sacred Mosque'') as the holiest place on Earth.
The term 'Mecca' has come into common usage
metaphorically to mean any all-important site for any particular group of people. In the 1980s the government of Saudi Arabia changed the official English transliteration of the city's name from 'Mecca', as it had been commonly spelled by westerners, to 'Makkah'. See
#The spelling of the name below for the reasons.
History
Muslims believe that the
Kaaba, the small cubical building now surrounded by the Sacred Mosque, was built by
Abraham and has been a religious center ever since. Some historians do not accept these scriptural assertions, but do believe that Mecca was a shrine and trading center for a number of generations before the
Islamic prophet
Muhammad. Muhammad, once exiled from the city, returned to it in triumph in 630 CE and after removing the cult images from the Kaaba, dedicated it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage. (For further information, see the main article,
Muhammad.)
After the rise of
Islamic empire, Mecca attracted pilgrims from all over the far-flung empire, as well as a year-round population of scholars, pious Muslims who wished to live close to the Kaaba, and local inhabitants who served the pilgrims. Due to the difficulty and expense of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage was small compared to the millions that swell Mecca today. The city too was small. 18th and 19th century maps and pictures show a small walled city of mud-brick houses crowded around the mosque.
Mecca was never the capital of the Islamic empire; the first capital
was
Medina, some 250 miles (400 km) away. The capital of the
caliphate soon moved to
Damascus and then
Baghdad. Mecca re-entered Islamic history briefly when it was held by
Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, an early Muslim who opposed the
Umayyad caliphs. The caliph
Yazid I besieged Mecca in 683 CE. Thereafter the city figured little in politics; it was a city of devotion and scholarship. For centuries it was governed by the
Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca, descendants of Muhammad by his grandson
Hassan ibn Ali. The Sharifs ruled on behalf of whatever caliph or Muslim ruler had declared himself the Guardian of the Two Shrines. Mecca was attacked and sacked by
Ismaili Muslims in 930 CE and by
Wahhabi Muslims in 1803. In 1926, the Sharifs of Mecca were overthrown by the Saudis, and Mecca was incorporated into
Saudi Arabia.
The contemporary city
Image:Ka'ba2003.jpg Kaaba.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|200px|The [[Kaaba in the
Masjid al-Haram, Mecca.html" title="Meaning of right|200px|The [[Kaaba">thumb|right|200px|The [[Kaaba in the
Masjid al-Haram, Mecca">right|200px|The [[Kaaba">thumb|right|200px|The [[Kaaba in the
Masjid al-Haram, Mecca
Image:OldmapofMecca.jpg right|thumb|200px|1787 Turkish map of Mecca
Image:mapmakka.jpg thumb|300px|right|City map of modern-day Mecca
The city has grown enormously in the past few decades, as jet travel makes participating in the Hajj ever easier and cheaper and as the crowds of pilgrims swell. Many Saudis are employed year-round to oversee the Hajj; many thousands more work in the shops and hotels that cater to pilgrims. All these Hajj-dependent workers in turn need housing and services. The old, small, walled city of the past is being demolished and replaced by freeways, shopping malls, and skyscrapers such as the
Abraj Al Bait Towers.
In the rush to modernize, historic buildings are being demolished. The
Wahhabi sect of
Sunni Islam that dominates Saudi Arabia views all veneration of shrines and graves as
bid'a, innovation, and
shirk, idolatry, and hence approves and encourages these demolitions.
Many Muslims are highly concerned by what they see as wilful disregard for their sentiments. Art historians, architects, and historical preservationists also oppose the wholesale destruction, albeit for different reasons. [http://in.news.yahoo.com/050708/137/5z9hq.html]
The importance of Mecca
For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Mecca called the
Hajj is required as one of the
Five Pillars of Islam Five Pillars of the faith. In recent years, about two to three million have gathered for the major pilgrimage, during the Muslim month of
Dhu al-Hijjah, and many more perform the minor pilgrimage or
Umrah, which may be performed at any time of year.
The focal point of Mecca is the
Ka'bah, the "House of God" believed by Muslims to have been rebuilt by
Abraham and his son
Ishmael; it is covered in a gold-embroidered black fabric (
kiswah). The pilgrims circle the Ka'bah seven times and may also try to touch or kiss its cornerstone, the
Black Stone. Pilgrims then drink from the
Zamzam Well well of Zamzam. The water of Zamzam is believed to have special properties and health benefits. Few pilgrims return from the Hajj without a large plastic bottle of the Zamzam water.
During the Hajj the pilgrims travel to Mina, a small village, where
Iblis (the
Devil), symbolised by stone columns, is ritually stoned. They then proceed to the
Hill of Arafat, a site for prayers, where the prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered
The Farewell Sermon.
The importance of Mecca for Muslims is inestimable. All
Muslims, wherever they are on the earth, are required to pray five times a day in the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca (located at {{coor dms|21|25|24|N|39|49|24|E|}}). This direction of prayer is known as the
qiblah. Muslims regard
al-Masjid al-Haram (or 'The Sacred Mosque') as the holiest place on Earth.
Non-Muslims and Mecca
Image:Supplicating Pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.jpg right|thumb|The holy mosque centre, showing the Ka'bah after the Friday prayers
Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca, according to the Saudi embassy in London ([http://www.ukemb.mofa.gov.sa/Detail.asp?InSectionID=51&InNewsItemID=1756]). Road blocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. As one might expect, the existence of "forbidden cities" and the mystery of the Hajj aroused intense curiosity in European travellers. A number of them pretended to be Muslims and entered the city of Mecca and then the Kaaba to experience the Hajj for themselves. The most famous account of a foreigner's journey to Mecca is ''A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Al-Madina,'' written by Sir
Richard Francis Burton. Burton traveled as a
Qadiri Sufism Sufi from Afghanistan; his name, as he signed it in Arabic below his frontispiece portrait for "The Jew, The Gypsy and al-Islam," was ''al-Hajj 'Abdullah''.
The spelling of the name
For most English-speakers, ''Mecca'' has long been the accepted spelling for the holy city. The word is a transliteration of the original
Arabic language Arabic, and has become part of the English language as a metaphor for a site of pilgrimage for people with a particular interest. In an effort to distinguish between the metaphorical and official references to the holy site, the Saudi Arabian government in the 1980s began promoting a new transliteration, ''Makkah al-Mukarramah'', meaning Mecca the Blessed, which is closer to the original Arabic. This new usage has been adopted in many places and by certain organizations, such as the [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm U.S. Department of State], but is not part of the active vocabulary of English-speakers at large. Some leading media organizations such as ''
Reuters'', the
BBC and ''
New York Times'' continue to use Mecca.
References to Mecca in the Torah/Bible
{{main|Bakkah}}
{{Wikisourcepar2|Bible, King James, Psalms#Chapter 84|Psalm 84}}
Some believe that Mecca is mentioned in the texts that make up the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament. They say that
Psalm Psalm 84 refers to Mecca -- also that the wilderness of
Paran mentioned in many passages is a reference to Mecca. See the main article
Bakkah for further discussion.
{{commons|Mecca}}
See also
*
Islam
*
Muslim
*
Hajj
*
Medina
*
Hijaz
*
Saudi Arabia
*
Islamic architecture
*
List of famous mosques
*
List of holy cities
External links
-
Saudi Information Resource - Holy Makkah
-
The Saudi Government's official site for Makkah (Arabic)
*{{wikitravel}}
-
Map of Mecca
-
Pictures of Mecca
-
More Pictures of Mecca
-
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah, by Richard Burton
-
A 3D model of the Kaaba and Haraam - multimedia
{{Saudi cities}}
Category:Arabic words
Category:Cities in Saudi Arabia
Category:Holy cities
Category:Mecca
Category:Pilgrimages
{{Link FA|id}}
{{Link FA|nn}}
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eu:Mekka
fa:Ù…Ú©Ù‡
fi:Mekka
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gl:A Meca - مكة
haw:Meka
he:מכה
id:Mekkah
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ur:Ù…Ú©Û?Ù? مکرمÛ?
zh:麥åŠ
'''Mecca''' (or '''Makkah''') is a city in the
Hijaz region of western
Saudi Arabia. It is revered as the holiest site of the
Islamic religion, and a
pilgrimage to Mecca pilgrimage to it is required of all
Muslims who can afford the trip.
{{catmore}}
Category:Islam
Category:Cities in Saudi Arabia
Category:Holy cities
see
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