بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah (Arabic: مكة المكرمة, lit. ’Makkah the Noble’ ) and commonly shortened to Makkah (Arabic: مكة) is a city and administrative centre of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. The city is 70 km inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 metres above sea level. The estimated metropolitan population in 2020 is 2.042 million, making it the third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. Pilgrims more than triple this number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah.
The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is home to the Ka’bah, are one of Islam’s holiest sites and the direction of prayer for all Muslims (qibla). Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. The Hira cave atop the Jabal al-Nur (“Mountain of Light”) is just outside the city and is where the Al-Quran was first revealed to Muhammad s.a.w. Visiting Mecca for the Hajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims.