Mecca

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For other uses, see Mecca (disambiguation).

Mecca

Makkah (Arabic: ‫َّـة‬

‫مـك‬َ)[1]

Bakkah (Arabic: ‫َـكَّـة‬‫)ب‬

Makkah al-Mukarramah (Arabic: ‫َـكَّـة‬ ‫َـة م‬ ‫ُـكَـر‬
‫َّم‬ ْ
‫)الـم‬
Umm al-Qurā (Arabic: ّ ُ
‫َى أم‬ ُ ْ
‫الـقـر‬, [2][3] "Mother of All Settlements")

City

Clockwise from top left: Jabal al-Nour, the Kaaba in the Great Mosque
of Mecca (prior to the completion of the Abraj Al-Bait), overview of
central Mecca, Mina and the modern Jamaraat Bridge
 Mecca

Location of Mecca

Show map of Saudi Arabia Show map of Asia Show all

Coordinates: 21°25′21″N 39°49′34″ECoordinates:

21°25′21″N 39°49′34″E

Country Saudi Arabia

Region Makkah Region

Government
• Mayor Osama al-Bar
• Provincial Governor Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud

Area
[4]

• City 760 km2 (290 sq mi)

• Urban 850 km2 (330 sq mi)
• Metro 1,200 km2 (500 sq mi)

Elevation 277 m (909 ft)

Population
(2010)[5]
• City 1,675,368
• Density 2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi)

Time zone UTC+3 (AST)

 Area code(s) (+966) 12

Website www.holymakkah.gov.sa

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Mecca,[a] also spelled Makkah, is a city in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia.[6] 70 km (43 mi) inland
from Jeddah, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level, 340 kilometres (210 mi) south of Medina, its
population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during
the Ḥajj ("Pilgrimage"), held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah.
It is the birthplace of Muhammad, a cave 3 km (2 mi) from Mecca was the site of Muhammad's first
revelation of the Quran,[7][8] and a pilgrimage to it, known as the Hajj, is obligatory for all able Muslims. Mecca is
home to the Kaaba, one of Islam's holiest sites and the direction of Muslim prayer, and thus Mecca is regarded
as the holiest city in Islam.[9]
Mecca was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as
vassals to larger polities. It was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, since then Mecca has seen a tremendous
expansion in size and infrastructure, such as the Abraj Al Bait, also known as the Makkah Royal Clock Tower
Hotel, the world's fourth tallest building and the building with the third largest amount of floor area, and lost
some historical structures and archaeological sites, such as the Ajyad Fortress.[10][11][12] Non-Muslims
are prohibited from entering the city.[13][14]