Everything about Mecca totally explained
Mecca, also spelled
Makkah (in full:
Makkah Al-Mukarramah ; ) is an
Islamic
holy city in
Saudi Arabia's
Makkah Province, in the historic
Hejaz region. It has a population of 1,700,000 (2008 census). The city is located 73
kilometres (45
miles) inland from
Jeddah, in a narrow valley, 277 metres (910
ft) above sea level. It is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the
Red Sea. Historically, the city has also been called
Becca.
The city is revered by
Muslims for containing the holiest site of
Islam, the
Grand Mosque of Mecca. A
pilgrimage to Mecca during the season of the
Hajj is one of the
Five Pillars of Islam, a sacred duty that's required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go, at least once in their lifetime. People of other faiths (and
atheists) are officially forbidden from entering the city.
Etymology and spelling
Mecca is the original English transliteration of the
Arabic name.
In the 1980s, the Saudi Arabian government and others began promoting the transliteration
Makkah (in full,
Makkah al-Mukarramah), which more closely resembles the actual Arabic pronunciation. This spelling is starting to be taken up by many organizations, including the
United Nations,
United States Department of State and the
British Foreign Office, but the spelling
Mecca remains in common use.
Another common alternative is
Meccah.
Derived from the importance of the city in Islam is the
English word
mecca, meaning "A place that's regarded as the center of an activity or interest" or "A goal to which adherents of a religious faith or practice fervently aspire."
Government
Mecca is governed by the
Municipality of Mecca, headed by a
mayor (Also known as
Amin) appointed by the
Saudi Government. The current mayor of the city is
Osama Al-Bar. A municipal council of fourteen locally elected members is responsible for the functioning of the municipality.
Mecca is the capital of
Makkah Province, which includes neighboring
Jeddah. The governor was Prince
Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz from 2000 until his death in 2007. On
May 16,
2007, Prince
Khalid al Faisal was appointed as the new governor.
History
Early history
For over 1400 years, Mecca has been one of the most important cities in the
Arabian Peninsula. By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major settlements in northern Arabia, all along the southwestern coast that borders the Red Sea, in a habitable region between the sea and the great desert to the east. This area, known as the
Hejaz, featured three settlements that had grown around
oasis, where water was available. In the center of the Hejaz was Yathrib, later renamed as
Medina. south of Yathrib was
Taif, a mountain town, and northwest of Taif was Mecca. Though the area around Mecca was completely barren, Mecca was the wealthiest and most important of the three settlements.
Islamic histories state that it had abundant water via the
Zamzam Well, which was the site of the holiest shrine in Arabia, the
Kaaba, and was also at the crossroads of major
caravan routes.
The Kaaba is a large cubical building now surrounded by the Masjid al-Haram. According to the
Qur'an, the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim (ابراهيم,
Abraham) and his son Ismā'īl (اسماعيل,
Ishmael), around 2000 BC. The inhabitants were stated to have fallen away from monotheism through the influence of the
Amelkites. Historians state that the Kaaba later became the repository of 360 idols and tribal gods of all of Arabia's
nomadic tribes. Prior to the
Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, the most important idol was that of
Hubal, having been placed there by the ruling
Quraysh tribe, who had taken control from the
Jurhum tribe. The Kaaba was also said to hold icons of other faiths, such as statues of
Jesus and
Mary.
The harsh conditions of the Arabian peninsula usually meant a constant state of
conflict between the
tribes, but once a year they'd declare a truce and converge upon Mecca in an annual pilgrimage. This journey was intended for religious reasons, to pay homage to the shrine, and to drink from the Well of Zamzam. However, it was also the time each year that disputes would be arbitrated, debts would be resolved, and trading would occur at Meccan fairs. These annual events gave the tribes a sense of common identity and made Mecca extremely important throughout the peninsula.
In the 5th century, the Quraysh tribe took control of Mecca, and became skilled merchants and traders. In the 6th century they joined the lucrative
spice trade as well, since battles in other parts of the world were causing trade routes to divert from the dangerous sea routes to the relatively more secure overland routes. The
Byzantine Empire had previously controlled the Red Sea, but
piracy had been on the increase. Another previous route, that from the
Persian Gulf via the
Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, was also being threatened by exploitation from the
Sassanid Empire, as well as being disrupted by the
Lakhmids, the
Ghassanids, and the
Roman-Persian Wars. Mecca's prominence as a trading center surpassed the cities of
Petra and
Palmyra.
Muhammad's great-grandfather had been the first to equip a camel caravan, and they became a regular part of the town's economy. Alliances were struck between the merchants in Mecca, and the local
nomadic tribes, who would bring leather, livestock, and metals which were mined in the local mountains. Caravans would then be loaded up in Mecca, and would take the goods to the cities in Syria and
Iraq. Islamic tradition claims that goods from other continents also flowed through Mecca. From
Africa and the
Far East towards Syria supposedly flowed spices, leather, drugs, cloth, and slaves; and in return Mecca was to have received money, weapons, cereals, and wine, which were distributed throughout Arabia. The Meccans signed treaties with both the Byzantines and the
Bedouins, and negotiated safe passage for caravans, which included such things as water and pasture rights. These further increased Mecca's political power as well as economic, and Mecca became the center of a loose confederation of client tribes, which included those of the
Banu Tamim. A casual examination of a map of the middle east shows that this is improbable. Mecca is simply not on the way to anywhere, from anywhere. Other forces such as the
Abyssinian, Ghassan, and Lakhm were in decline, and Meccan influence was the primary binding force in Arabia in the late 6th century.
In 628, Muhammad adopted a more peaceful posture, as he and some followers attempted to enter Mecca on pilgrimage, to show that the traditional rituals could be adopted into the new religion of
Islam. With the
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, he agreed to a truce with the Meccans, whereby Muslims would be allowed into the city. Two years later, the truce was broken, but rather than fight, the city of Mecca simply surrendered to Muhammad. He declared amnesty for the inhabitants, gave generous gifts to the leading Quraysh, and instituted some major changes. The citizens of Mecca removed or destroyed all of the cult images from the Kaaba. Muhammed declared Mecca as the holiest site in Islam, dedicating it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage.
Mecca re-entered Islamic political 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.
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.
In 930, Mecca was attacked and sacked by
Qarmatians, a millenarian
Ismaili Muslim sect led by
Abu Tahir Al-Jannabi and centered in eastern Arabia. The
Black Death pandemic hit Mecca in 1349. In 1517, the
Sharif of Mecca, Barakat bin Muhammed, acknowledged the supremacy of the
Ottoman Caliph, but maintained a great degree of local autonomy.
The city was captured in 1802 by the
First Saudi State (Also knows as
Wahhabis), The Saudis held Mecca until 1813. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the
Ottoman Empire, who had exercised sovereignty over the holy cities since 1517, and the lethargic Ottomans were finally moved to action. The task of destroying the Saudis was given by the Ottomans to their powerful viceroy of
Egypt,
Muhammad Ali Pasha. Who successfully returned Mecca following the
Battle of Mecca (1813). In 1818, the Wahhabis were defeated, But some of
Al Saud clan lived on to found the
Second Saudi State that lasted until 1891, and later the present
Saudi Arabia.
In June 1916, During the
Arab Revolt, the
Sharif of Mecca,
Hussein bin Ali revolted against the
Ottoman Empire from Mecca and it was the first city captured by his forces following
Battle of Mecca (1916). Sharif Hussien declared a new state, Kingdom of Hejaz, and declared Mecca as the capital of the new kingdom. In 1924, the Sharif of Mecca were overthrown by the
Saudis, and Mecca was incorporated into Saudi Arabia. Following the
Battle of Mecca (1924), The city joint Saudi Arabia until the present days.
Events
On
November 20,
1979 two hundred armed
Islamist dissidents led by Saudi preacher
Juhayman al-Otaibi seized the Grand Mosque. They claimed that the
Saudi royal family no longer represented pure Islam and that the mosque, and the Kaaba, must be held by those of the true faith. The rebels seized tens of thousands of pilgrims as hostages and barricaded themselves in the mosque. The siege lasted two weeks, and resulted in several hundred deaths and significant damage to the shrine, especially the Safa-Marwa gallery. While it's the Pakistani forces that carried out the bloodless assault, they were assisted with weapons and planning by a small team of advisors from
The French GIGN commando unit.
On
July 31,
1987, during an
anti-US demonstration by pilgrims, 402 people were killed (275 Iranian pilgrims, 85 Saudis [includingpolicemen], and 45 pilgrims from other countries) and 649 wounded (303 Iranian pilgrims, 145 Saudis [includingpolicemen] and 201 pilgrims from other countries) after the Saudi police opened fire against the unarmed demonstrators.
Geography
Climate
Unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Mecca retains its warm temperature in winter, which can range from +17
°C (63 °F) at midnight to +25 °C (77 °F) in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are considered very hot and break the +40 °C (104 °F) mark in the afternoon dropping to +30 °C (86 °F) in the evening. Rain usually falls in Mecca in small amounts in December and January.
Some unusual events often happen during the year, such as
dust storms in summer, coming from the
Arabian Peninsula's deserts or from
North Africa.
Snow doesn't fall in Mecca.
| Mecca Climatological Data |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
|
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) |
35 (95) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
42 (108) |
47 (117) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
41 (106) |
41 (106) |
34 (93) |
|
|
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
40 (104) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
32 (88) |
|
33 (91)
|
| Record low °C (°F) | 13 (55) |
13 (55) |
13 (55) |
13 (55) |
16 (61) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
12 (53) |
|
|
| Average low °C (°F) | 19 (66) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
|
22 (72)
|
|
| Rainfall mm (in) | 5 (0.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
25 (1.0) |
31 (1.2) |
|
61 (2.4)
|
Area
Mecca is at an elevation of 277 m (910 ft) above sea level, and approximately inland from the Red Sea. The city is situated between mountains, which has defined the contemporary expansion of the city. The city centers around the
Grand Mosque area. The area around the mosque comprises the old city. The main avenues are
Al-Mudda'ah and
Sūq al-Layl to the north of the mosque, and
As-Sūg Assaghīr to the south. As the Saudis expanded The Grand Mosque in the center of the city, where there were once hundreds of houses are now replaced with wide avenues and city squares. Traditional homes are built of local rock and are generally two to three stories. The total area of Mecca metro today stands over 1,200 km² (463.3 sq mi)
Economy
The Meccan economy is almost entirely dependent on money spent by people attending the Hajj. The city takes in more than $100 million during the Hajj. The Saudi government spends about $50 million on services for the Hajj. There are some industries and factories in the city, but Mecca no longer plays a major role in Saudi Arabia's economy, which is mainly based on oil exports. The few industries operating in Mecca include textiles, furniture, and utensils. The majority of the economy is service oriented. Water is scarce and food must be imported via
Shu'eyba water plant and Jeddah.
Demographics
Population density in Mecca is very high. Most long-term residents of Mecca live in the Old City, and many work in the industry locally known as the
Hajj Industry. As Iyad Madani, Saudi Arabia's minister for Hajj was quoted as saying, "We never stop preparing for the Hajj." Year-round, pilgrims stream into the city to perform the rites of Umrah, and during the last weeks of
Dhu al-Hijjah, on average 4 million Muslims arrive in the city to take part in the rites known as Hajj.
Pilgrims of different
ethnicities and backgrounds, from
Africa,
Central Asia,
Southeast Asia,
Europe and the
Middle East, many of whom remained and became residents of the city. As a result, Mecca is much more ethnically diverse than most Saudi cities and its culture more eclectic in nature. Added to the traditional diversity, the oil-boom of the past 50 years has brought hundreds of thousands of working
immigrants.
Culture
Religious significance
Meccan residents are a mix of several different ethnicities and nationalities. This mixture of races has impacted significantly on Mecca's traditional cuisine.
Like other Saudi cities, The
Nejdi Kabsa is the most traditional lunch for Meccans. The
Yemeni Mandi is also popular as a lunch meal.
Grilled meats such as
shawarma,
kofta and
kebab have a good market in Mecca. During
Ramadan,
sambousak and
ful are the most popular meals during
dusk. These meals are almost always found in Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish restaurants. During Ramadan also but long years ago, a slave man called
Sagga used to provide mineral water for people during dusk. The Saggas also used to provide grape juice. Today, Saggas are rich businesspeople, providing sweets such as
baklawa and
basbosa, along with juice.
International food is also popular in the city. American chains such as
McDonald's,
Burger King,
Domino's Pizza and
KFC.
Media
Jeddah is served by one major Arabic-language newspaper,
Shams. However, other Saudi and international newspapers are also provided in Mecca such as the
Saudi Gazette,
Al-Madina,
Okaz,
Al-Bilad. The first three are Mecca's (and other Saudi cities') primary newspapers focusing mainly on issues that affect the city, with over a million readers.
Many television stations serving the city area include
Saudi TV1,
Saudi TV2,
Saudi TV Sports,
Al-Ekhbariya,
ART channels network and hundreds of cable, satellite and other speciality television providers.
Sport
Football is the most popular sport in Mecca, the city hosting some of the oldest sport clubs in Saudi Arabia such as,
Al-Wehda FC (established in 1945).
King Abdulaziz Stadium is the largest stadium in Mecca with capacity of 33,500.
Accent
The Mecca City area has a distinctive regional speech pattern called the Hejazi dialect, alternatively known as Meccan or Makkawi. It is often considered to be one of the most recognizable accents within the Arabic language.
Pronunciations in Hejazi differ from other Gulf dialects in some respects. The Classical Arabic qaaf (ق) is pronounced as /g/ sound, as in "get". Hijazi Arabic is also conservative with respect to the sound of the pronunciation of the letter ğim (ج), which is very close to the two sounds considered, by specialists, to be the best candidates for the way it was pronounced in Classical Arabic, namely, the voiced palatal plosive /ɟ/ and the palatalized velar stop /gʲ/.[citationneeded] This stands in contrast with many dialects in the region which use /g/ or /ʒ/ for ğim instead. Some speakers replace the interdental /θ/ with /t/ or /s/.
The Hejazi dialect also contains fairly recent borrowings from other Arabic dialects, including
Levantine and
Egyptian Arabic.
Commercial Life
The city has grown substantially in the 20th and 21st centuries, as the convenience and affordability of
jet travel has increased the number of pilgrims participating in the Hajj. Thousands of Saudis are employed year-round to oversee the Hajj and staff the hotels and shops that cater to pilgrims; these workers in turn have increased the demand for housing and services. The city is now ringed by freeways, and contains shopping malls and skyscrapers.
Cityspaces
Grand Mosque
Mecca houses the Masjid al-Haram, the largest
mosque in the world. The mosque surrounds the
Kaaba, the place which
Muslims turn towards while offering daily
prayer and considered by Muslims to be the holiest place on
Earth. The mosque is also commonly known as the
Haram or
Grand Mosque.
The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square meters including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 4 million worshippers during the
Hajj period.
Landmarks
The recent expansion of the city provided many modern landmarks such as the huge towers of
Abraj Al-Bait, with height of 577 m (1,893 ft). The construction of the towers will be completed in 2009, being one of the world's tallest buildings. The site of the towers is located across the street from the entrance to the Grand Mosque.
As a historic city, Mecca owns hundreds of historical landmarks such as the
Kaaba, Muslims believe it was built by
Abraham and his son
Ishmael. The
Zamzam Well is another historical place as well.
The
Qishla of Mecca used to be one of the most notable structures for Mecca, The Qishla was an
Ottoman castle facing the Grand Mosque and defending the city from any possible attack. However, The Saudi government removed the structure, giving free space for new hotels and business buildings around the Mosque.
Education
The school system in Mecca has many public and private schools for both males and females. As of 2005, there were 532
public and
private schools for males and another 681 public and private schools for female students. The medium of instruction in both public and private schools is Arabic with emphasis on English as a
second language, but some private schools which are by foreign entities such as (
International schools) use the English language for medium of instruction. They also allow the mixing between males and females while other schools do not.
For higher education, the city has only one university,
Umm Al-Qura University, which was established in 1949 as a college and became a public university in 1979.
Transportation
Transportation facilities related to the
Hajj or
Umrah are the main services available. Mecca has only the small
Mecca East Airport with no airline service, so most
pilgrims access the city through the Hajj terminal of
King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) or the
Jeddah Seaport, both of which are in Jeddah.
The city lacks any public transportation options for residents and visitors, both during and outside of the pilgrimage season. The main tranportation options available for travel within and around the city are either personal vehicles or private taxis.
Further Information
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