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Mecca: Cities
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Mecca is the most holy city in Islam. The city is revered from being the first place created on earth, as well as the place where Ibrahim together with his son Isma'il, built the Ka'ba. The Ka'ba, the centre of Islam, is a rectangular building made of bricks. Around the Ka'ba is the great mosque, al-Haram, and around the mosque, in between the mountains, are the houses that make up Mecca.
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Mecca (Arabic: Makkah), the birthplace of Muhammad, is the holiest city of the Islamic faith. Capital of the Hejaz province of Saudi Arabia, Mecca is located 72 km (45 mi) east of Jidda, its port on the Red Sea, and about 485 km (300 mi) south of Medina. Mecca's population is 367,000 (1976 est.). The city is located on the sandy, narrow valley of the Wadi Ibrahim and is surrounded by hills from 60 to 150 m (200 to 500 ft) high. The 914-m-high (3,000-ft) Jabal Khandama is located nearby.
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Saudi Arabia is closed to tourists and Mecca itself is off limits to all non-Muslims. Road blocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. The most celebrated incident of a non-Muslim visiting Mecca was the visit by the British explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton (who translated the 100 stories of the Arabian Knights and discovered the Kama Sutra) in 1853. Burton disguised himself as an Afghani Muslim to visit and write Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca.
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The city of Mecca achieved its major religious significance following the birth and life of the Prophet Muhammed (570-632AD). In 630 Muhammad took control of Mecca and destroyed the 360 pagan idols, with the notable exception of the statues of Mary and Jesus. The idol of Hubal, the largest in Mecca, was a giant stone situated atop the Ka’ba. Following the command of the Prophet, Ali (the cousin of Muhammad) stood on Muhammad’s shoulders, climbed to the top of the Ka’ba and toppled the idol.
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Mecca is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, 80 kilometres from the Red Sea. Mecca is revered by Muslims as Islam's holiest site. Saudi does not issue tourist visas; ... the beautiful and culturally rich city offers interesting attractions for business travellers and those on a religious pilgrimage. There is a wide selection of hotels; however, it necessary to make your reservations well in advance.
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Population density in Mecca is very high. Most long-term residents of Mecca live in the Old City, and many work in the industry locally known as the Hajj Industry. As one Saudi CEO was quoted as saying, "We never stop preparing for the Hajj." Year-round, pilgrims stream into the city to perform the rites of Umrah, and during the last weeks of Dhu al-Hijjah, on average 4 million Muslims arrive in the city to take part in the rites known as Hajj.[5]
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