Mecca
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mecca (officially: Makkah al-Mukarramah; Arabic: مكة المكرمة) is a city in Saudi Arabia. It has a population of 1,294,167 (2004 census). The city is located 73 kilometres inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres above sea level. It is located 81 kilometres from the Red Sea.
Mecca is the holiest city in the Islamic world. Every year, millions of Muslims walk a pilgrimage to Mecca. This is called the Hajj, where they follow in the footsteps of Muhammad. The Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram, the holiest mosque in Islam is situated here. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims.
[edit] History
The Kaaba, the small cubical building which Muslims pray towards is believed to have been built by Ibrahim and has been a religious center ever since. Muslims believed that the God commanded Ibrahim to send his second wife Hajar and her son Ismail there 14:37. They found the Zamzam Well which led to people settling nearby, and thus Mecca was born. When Ismail was big enough, he helped his father to build the Kaaba 2:217.
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