From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mecca /ˈmɛkə/ or
Makkah /ˈmækə/ (in full:
Makkah al-Mukarramah;
Arabic:
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
21°25′N 39°49′E, 73
kilometres (45
mi) inland from
Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres (909
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
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
below for the reasons.
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or probably just type the word Mecca in the search engines.
Allah-Knowing The Best.
