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Mecca

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                              Mecca
   Makkah al-Mukarramah
   مكة المكرمة
   Skyline of MeccaMakkah al-Mukarramahمكة المكرمة
   Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
   Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
                  Coordinates: 21°25′N 39°49′E
      Province    Makkah
       Prince     Abdulmajeed bin Abdul Aziz
        Area
       - City      ? km²
       - Land      ? km²
       - Water     ? km²
     Population
    - City (2004) 1,294,168

   Mecca IPA: [ˈmɛkə] or Makkah IPA: [ˈmækə] (in full: Makkah
   al-Mukarramah IPA: [(Arabic) mækːæ(t) ælmʊkarˑamæ]; Arabic: مكة
   المكرمة‎, Turkish: Mekke) is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah
   province, in the historic Hejaz region. It has a population of
   1,294,167 (2004 census). The city is located 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, or a main
   attraction in a certain place or group of people that has a large
   turnout. In the 1980s the government of Saudi Arabia changed the
   official English transliteration of the city's name from 'Mecca', as it
   had been and continues to be commonly spelled by westerners, to
   'Makkah'. See below for the reasons.

History

   The Kaaba, a small cubical building now surrounded by the Sacred
   Mosque, is said by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and has been a
   religious centre ever since.

   Soon before the time of Muhammad, Mecca fell under the control of the
   Banu Quraish, which, according to traditions, directly descends from
   Khaidar (Qedar), the second son of Ismail. Descendants of this tribe
   today refer to themselves as Qurayshis and are predominantly Muslim.
   Historians generally agree that Mecca was a shrine and trading centre
   for a number of generations before the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The
   extent of Meccan trade has been hotly debated. Some historians believe
   that Mecca was a waypoint on a land route from southern Arabia north to
   the Roman and Byzantine empires, and that Arabian and Indian Ocean
   spices were funneled through Mecca.

   According to the Qur'ān, the city was attacked by an Ethiopian Aksumite
   army lead by Abraha in 570, the year of Muhammad's birth. The attack
   was said to have been repelled by the dropping of stones by thousands
   of birds, followed by a plague. Muhammad, a member of the Banu Quraish
   exiled from the city for preaching against paganism, returned to the
   city in triumph in 630 CE and after removing the cult images from the
   Kaaba, dedicated it as the centre of Muslim pilgrimage. (For further
   information, see the main article, Conquest of Mecca.)

   After the rise of the Islamic empire, Mecca attracted pilgrims from all
   over the extensive 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.

Current status

   1787 Turkish map of Mecca
   Enlarge
   1787 Turkish map of Mecca

   The city has grown substantially in the last several decades, 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.

   As the city expands, freeways, shopping malls, and skyscrapers have
   been built. The Salafi Islam that dominates Saudi Arabia views all
   veneration of shrines and graves as bid'a, shirk, and idolatry, and
   hence approves and encourages the demolition of such structures.

Importance

   For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Mecca called the Hajj is required as one
   of the 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.
   City map of modern-day Mecca
   Enlarge
   City map of modern-day Mecca

   The focal point of Mecca is the Ka'bah (or Kaaba). The "House of God"
   was believed 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 Hajar Aswad/ Black Stone. Pilgrims then drink from the
   well of Zamzam. Muslims believe that the water of Zamzam possess
   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 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 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

   Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca. 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 Sufi from Afghanistan; his name, as he signed it in Arabic below
   his frontpiece portrait for "The Jew, The Gypsy and al-Islam," was
   al-Hajj 'Abdullah.
   The holy mosque centre, showing the Ka'bah after the Friday prayers
   Enlarge
   The holy mosque centre, showing the Ka'bah after the Friday prayers

Spelling

   Mecca has long been the accepted English spelling for the holy city as
   a transliteration of the original Arabic. The word 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 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.

Pictures

   Mecca from the air

   The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca

   Building in Mecca

   Mecca during the Hajj

   A street in Mecca during the Hajj

   Entrance to Mecca

   Inside the mosque

   Inside the mosque

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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