Mecca – Saudi Arabia

Makka al-Mukarrama translates into “Honoured Mecca” and is Islam’s holiest city, the site of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with well over two million pilgrims convening on this city every year. The city was originally called Macoraba, later becoming known as Becca. It has been an important centre of trade since before the 7th century when Islam was first proclaimed in Mecca by the prophet Muhammad who was born in the city in 570. The name of Makkah was the name officially given to this city from the 1980s, in an attempt to adhere closer to the true Arabic pronunciation.  Officially, Mekkah has now been adopted by the various foreign organisations such as the British Foreign Office and the United Nations although this is a comparatively modern usage and Mecca remains the common name.

Mecca, governed by the Municipality  of 14 locally elected members and overseen by an Amin [mayor], has seen considerable growth in both the city and its infrastructure with the population now exceeding 1,700,000 and has since become an important modern city of commerce with tradition and cosmopolitan attitudes existing side by side. The modern city has been built in the Makkah Province which is in the Hejaz region, 910 feet above sea level, and 45 miles from Jeddah. The climate in Saudi Arabia, Mecca is generally very mild during the winter, from a low of 63F at night to a high of 77F during the day and little rain falling in December and January. Summer temperatures reach an extreme high in excess of 104F, with falls to 86F at night and dramatic dust storms blowing in from the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Makkah Province is governed by Prince Khalid al Faisal. The topography has limited the extent the city can grow to as Mecca nestles amongst mountains, with the “hollow of Mecca” a passageway between the mountains, providing Mecca’s early importance along the trade routes amongst the mountains. The Grand Mosque, also known as the Haram, which surrounds the Kaaba, considered by Moslems to be the holiest place on earth, is located in the old city. The actual city centre is based in the Masjid al-Haram district, with the Al-Mudda’ah and Suq al-Lavl avenues leading to the north of the mosque.  To the south is the As-Sug Assaghir.

The city centre has been cleared of houses in order to expand the precincts of the mosque with city squares and wide avenues leading to the Masjid al-Haram mosque, covering 3,841,000 sq ft, is the largest in the world. Before the ZamZam dam was built Mecca obtained most of its water from the ZamZam Well, the Ayn Zubayda spring which was fed from rainfall high up in the Jabal Sa’d and the Jabal Kabkab Mountains and transported to the city by a network of underground channels. The modern Mecca, spread across 460 square miles, obtains its water supply from the Zamzam Dam, providing sufficient water for the influx of pilgrims who visit the Grand Mosque on their annual pilgrimage.