Location of Mecca
Location of Mecca | Coordinates: 21°25′0″N 39°49′0″ECoordinates: 21°25′0″N 39°49′0″E | Country | Saudi Arabia | Province | Makkah Province | Founded by | Prophet Ismā'īl, son of Abraham (Islamic tradition) | Government | • Mayor | Usama al-Bar | • Provincial Governor | Khalid al-Faisal | Area[1] | • Urban | 850 km2 (330 sq mi) | • Metro | 1,200 km2 (500 sq mi) | Elevation | 277 m (909 ft) | Population (2012)[citation needed] | • City | 2,000,000 | • Density | 4,200/km2 (2,625/sq mi) | • Urban | 2,353,912 | • Metro | 2,900,000 | | Mecca Municipality estimate | Time zone | AST (UTC+3) | • Summer (DST) | AST (UTC+3) | Postal Code | (5 digits) | Area code(s) | +966-2 |
Mecca[2] (/ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækkæ]), also transliterated as Makkah, is a city in the Hejaz[3] and the capital of Makkah Province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran (the site in specificity being a cave 3.2 km (2 mi) from Mecca),[4][5] Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam[6] and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory for all able Muslims. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islam's holiest site, as well as being the center of the Islamic universe. Mecca was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925
Early history Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants. Many Muslims point to the Old Testament chapter Psalm 84:3–6 and a mention of a pilgrimage at the Valley
Mecca[2] (/ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækkæ]), also transliterated as Makkah, is a city in the Hejaz[3] and the capital of Makkah Province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was roughly 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the Muhammad's first revelation of the Quran (the site in specificity being a cave 3.2 km (2 mi) from Mecca),[4][5] Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam[6] and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory for all able Muslims. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, by majority description Islam's holiest site, as well as being the center of the Islamic universe. Mecca was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, acting either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger polities. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925
Early history Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants. Many Muslims point to the Old Testament chapter Psalm 84:3–6 and a mention of a pilgrimage at the Valley