Editing Mecca (section)

{{Short description|Holiest city in Islam, city in Saudi Arabia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Mecca<!-- As this is the English Wikipedia, "Mecca", the name commonly used in English goes here. For a longer explanation, see the article talk page -->
| subdivision_name2  = [[Mecca Governorate|Holy Capital Governorate]]
| subdivision_type3  = Region
| subdivision_name3  = [[Hejaz]]
| image_skyline      = {{Multiple image
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = The Kabah in the Grand Mosque of Makkah from the second floor, Saudi Arabia (8) (52501956308).jpg
| image2            = Makkah Clock Tower at night, Saudi Arabia (1) (52501885245).jpg
| image3            = Pilgrims cover Arafat's roads, plains and mountain - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg
| image4            = Jabbal An-Nour - Makkah (2241558560).jpg
| image5            = Haji pilgrimage mina tent city.jpg
| caption1          = [[Masjid al-Haram]] (Great Mosque of Mecca) and [[Kaaba]]
| caption2          = [[The Clock Towers]]
| caption3          = [[Mount Arafat]]
| caption4          = [[Jabal al-Nour]]
| caption5          = [[Mina, Saudi Arabia|Mina]] tent
| perrow            = 1/2/2
| border            = infobox
}}
| image_seal         = 
| population_demonym = Meccan, {{transliteration|ar|Makki}} {{nobold|({{lang|ar|{{script|Arab|مكي}}}})}}
| population_rank    = 3rd in Saudi Arabia
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Mecca Governorate |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/saudiarabia/makkah/0201__makkah_al_mukarramah/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=City Population}}</ref>
| demographics_type1 = [[GDP|GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)]]
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = Year
| demographics1_info1 = 2023
| demographics1_title2 = Total (Metro)
| demographics1_info2 = $84.6&nbsp;billion<ref name="TelluBase">{{cite web |title=TelluBase—Saudi Arabia Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series) |url=https://tellusant.com/repo/tb/tellubase_factsheet_sau.pdf |publisher=Tellusant |access-date=2025-03-31}}</ref>
| demographics1_title3 = Per capita
| demographics1_info3 = $39,400
| population_total   = 2,385,509
| population_as_of   = 2022 census
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_note    = 
| population_metro   = 2,427,924 (Mecca Governorate)
| leader_name1       = [[Khalid Al-Faisal]]
| leader_title1      = Provincial Governor
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Saleh Al-Turki
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of governorates of Saudi Arabia|Governorate]]
| official_name      = {{transliteration|ar|Makkah al-Mukarramah}} {{nobold|({{lang|ar|مكة المكرمة}})}}
| subdivision_name1  = [[Mecca Province]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Provinces of Saudi Arabia|Province]]
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}
| established_title  = Established
| coordinates        = {{coord|21|25|21|N|39|49|24|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map        = Saudi Arabia
| other_name         = {{ubl|The Holy Capital {{nobold|({{lang|ar|العاصمة المقدسة}})}}|Mother of all Settlements {{nobold|({{lang|ar|أم القرى}})}}}}
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Saudi Arabia|City]]
| native_name_lang   = ar
| native_name        = {{Script|Arab|مكة}}
| image_map          = Makkah Region - Makkah Al Mukarramah.svg
| map_caption        = Mecca governorate (green) within <br /> Mecca province
| timezone1          = [[Arabian Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset         = +3
| area_code          = +966-12
| website            = {{URL|https://hmm.gov.sa/}}
| elevation_m        = 277
| flag_size          = 135px
| blank_emblem_size  = 100px
| total_type         = 
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| area_total_km2     = 1200
| area_land_km2      = 760
| translit_lang1     = 
| area_urban_km2     = 
| established_date   = {{circa|18th century BCE}} (per Islamic tradition)
| founder            = [[Abraham in Islam|Ibrāhīm]] and [[Ishmael in Islam|Ismāʿīl]] (traditionally claimed to have built The [[Kaaba]])<ref>{{cite web|title=The History of Kaaba Construction and Its Renovation Over Time|url=https://www.dompetdhuafa.org/en/the-history-of-kaaba-construction-and-its-renovation-over-time/|website=Dompet Dhuafa|date=15 May 2023|access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref>
}}
{{Islam}}<!-- Please do not add any specific sects of Islam because if we have any then we have to have all. -->
'''Mecca''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|k|ə}}}} officially '''Makkah al-Mukarramah''',{{efn|{{Langx|ar|مَكَّة ٱلْمُكَرَّمَة|lit=Makkah the Noble|translit=Makkah al-Mukarramah}}, {{IPA|acw|makːa almʊkarːama}}}} is the capital of [[Mecca Province]] in the [[Hejaz]] region of western [[Saudi Arabia]]; it is the [[Holiest sites in Islam|holiest city in Islam]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87779-546-9 |page=724 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&pg=PA724}}</ref> It is {{cvt|70|km}} inland from [[Jeddah]] on the [[Red Sea]], in a narrow valley {{cvt|277|m}} above sea level. Its metropolitan population in 2022 was 2.4{{nbsp}}million, making it the [[List of cities in Saudi Arabia by population|third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia]] after [[Riyadh]] and Jeddah. Around 44.5% of the population are [[Saudis|Saudi citizens]] and around 55.5% are [[Muslim world|Muslim foreigners]] from other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Makkah (Makkah al-Mukarramah, Mecca Region, Saudi Arabia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/saudiarabia/makkah/makkah_al_mukarramah/02002__makkah/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=City Population}}</ref> Pilgrims more than triple the population number every year during the {{transliteration|ar|[[Hajj|Ḥajj]]}} [[Pilgrimage#Islam|pilgrimage]], observed in the twelfth [[Islamic calendar|Hijri]] month of {{transliteration|ar|[[Dhu al-Hijjah|Dhūl-Ḥijjah]]}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hajj The Holy Pilgrimage|url=https://salamislam.com/articles/practical-principles/hajj-holy-pilgrimage|website=Salamislam|date=3 January 2021|access-date=31 May 2022|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531214408/https://salamislam.com/articles/practical-principles/hajj-holy-pilgrimage|url-status=live}}</ref> With over 10.8 million international visitors in 2023, Mecca was one of the ten [[List of cities by international visitors|most visited cities]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-13 |title=Euromonitor International's report reveals world's Top 100… |url=https://www.euromonitor.com/press/press-releases/dec-2023/euromonitor-internationals-report-reveals-worlds-top-100-city-destinations-for-2023 |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Euromonitor}}</ref>

Mecca is generally considered "the fountainhead and cradle of [[Islam]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Global Transformation of Time: 1870–1950|first=Vanessa |last=Ogle|year= 2015| isbn=978-0-674-28614-6| page =173|publisher=Harvard University Press|quote=Mecca, "the fountainhead and cradle of Islam," would be the center of Islamic timekeeping.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Literary History Of The Arabs|first=Reynold A.  |last=Nicholson|year= 2013| isbn=978-1-136-17016-4| page =62|publisher=Routledge|quote=Mecca was the cradle of Islam, and Islam, according to Muhammad, is the religion of Abraham.}}</ref> Mecca is revered in Islam as the birthplace of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. The [[Hira cave]] atop the {{transliteration|ar|[[Jabal al-Nour|Jabal al-Nur]]}} ("Mountain of Light"), just outside the city, is where Muslims believe the [[Quran]] was first revealed to Muhammad.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khan, A M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcMHD5WWL7AC&pg=PA26|title=Historical Value Of The Qur An And The Hadith|publisher=Global Vision Publishing Ho|year=2003|isbn=978-81-87746-47-8|pages=26–}}; {{cite book|author=Al-Laithy, Ahmed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ShMqiiJbNYC&pg=PA61|title=What Everyone Should Know About the Qur'an|publisher=Garant|year=2005|isbn=978-90-441-1774-5|pages=61–}}</ref> Visiting Mecca for the {{transliteration|ar|Ḥajj}} is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The [[Masjid al-Haram|Great Mosque of Mecca]], known as the {{transliteration|ar|Masjid al-Haram}}, is home to the [[Kaaba|Ka'bah]], believed by Muslims to have been built by [[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]] and [[Ishmael in Islam|Ishmael]]. It is [[Holiest sites in Islam|Islam's holiest site]] and the direction of prayer ({{transliteration|ar|[[qibla]]}}) for all Muslims worldwide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed |author-link=Hossein Nasr |year=2005 |title=Mecca, The Blessed, Medina, The Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam |publisher=Aperture |isbn=0-89381-752-X}}</ref>

Muslim rulers from in and around the region long tried to take the city and keep it in their control, and thus, much like most of the [[Hejaz]] region, the city has seen several [[regime change]]s. The city was most recently conquered in the [[Saudi conquest of Hejaz]] by [[Ibn Saud]] and his allies in 1925. Since then, Mecca has seen a tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure, with newer, modern buildings such as [[The Clock Towers]], the world's fourth-tallest building and [[List of largest buildings|third-largest by floor area]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bayat |first=Ehsan |date=2021-01-28 |title=Dr. Ehsan Bayat - 6 Facts You Need to Know about the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower |url=https://ehsanbayat.com/6-facts-you-need-to-know-about-the-abraj-al-bait-clock-tower/ |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=Dr. Ehsan Bayat |language=en-US}}</ref> towering over the Great Mosque. The [[Saudi government]] has also carried out the [[Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia|destruction of several historical structures and archaeological sites]],<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Wahhābī (Islamic movement) |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wahhabi |date=9 June 2020 |access-date=8 September 2020 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |quote=Because [[Wahhabism|Wahhābism]] prohibits the veneration of shrines, tombs, and sacred objects, many sites associated with the [[early history of Islam]], such as the homes and graves of [[Companions of the Prophet|companions]] of [[Muhammad]], were demolished under Saudi rule. [[Preservationist]]s have estimated that as many as 95 percent of the historic sites around Mecca and [[Medina]] have been razed. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626201633/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wahhabi |archive-date=26 June 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> such as the [[Ajyad Fortress]].<ref name="independent">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mecca-for-the-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-into-vegas-2360114.html |location=London |work=[[The Independent]] |first=Jerome |last=Taylor |date=24 September 2011 |title=Mecca for the rich: Islam's holiest site 'turning into Vegas' |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616174556/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mecca-for-the-rich-islams-holiest-site-turning-into-vegas-2360114.html |archive-date=16 June 2017}}</ref><ref>A Saudi tower: Mecca versus Las Vegas: Taller, holier and even more popular than (almost) anywhere else, [[The Economist]] (24 June 2010), Cairo.</ref><ref name="NYT">Fattah, Hassan M.[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/international/middleeast/20mecca.html Islamic Pilgrims Bring Cosmopolitan Air to Unlikely City] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045207/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/20/international/middleeast/20mecca.html |date=24 September 2014 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'' (20 January 2005).</ref> However, many of the demolitions have officially been part of the continued expansion of the [[Masjid al-Haram]] at Mecca and the [[Prophet's Mosque]] in Medina and their auxiliary service facilities in order to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims performing the pilgrimage (''[[hajj]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cultural-genocide-of-Islamic-heritage-in-Saudi-Arabia-riles-Sunni-Sufis/articleshow/17564283.cms|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411040819/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-11/india/35749248_1_islamic-heritage-islamic-cooperation-aiumb-general-secretary|title='Cultural genocide of Islamic heritage' in Saudi Arabia riles Sunni Sufis |date=11 April 2013|work=[[The Times of India]]|url-status=live|archive-date=11 April 2013}}</ref> Non-Muslims are 
[[Closed city|prohibited from entering the city]].<ref name="peters 206">{{cite book|last=Peters|first=Francis E.|url=https://archive.org/details/hajjmuslimpilgri0000pete|title=The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-691-02619-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/hajjmuslimpilgri0000pete/page/206 206]|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=What everyone needs to know about Islam |last=Esposito |first=John L. |author-link=John Esposito |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2011 |page=25 |quote=Mecca, like Medina, is closed to non-Muslims |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wSVQI3Ya2EC&pg=PA25 |isbn=978-0-19-979413-3}}</ref>

Under the Saudi government, Mecca is governed by the Mecca Regional Municipality, a municipal council of 14 locally elected members headed by the mayor (called {{transliteration|ar|Amin}} in Arabic) appointed by the [[Politics of Saudi Arabia|Saudi government]]. In 2015, the mayor of the city was Osama bin Fadhel Al-Barr;<ref>{{cite news|date=28 May 2015|title=Mayor of Makkah Receives Malaysian Consul General|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia|url=http://www.kln.gov.my/web/sau_jeddah/n2015/-/asset_publisher/ME2g/blog/mayor-of-makkah-receives-malaysian-consul-general?redirect=%2Fweb%2Fsau_jeddah%2Fn2015|access-date=28 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004403/http://www.kln.gov.my/web/sau_jeddah/n2015/-/asset_publisher/ME2g/blog/mayor-of-makkah-receives-malaysian-consul-general?redirect=%2Fweb%2Fsau_jeddah%2Fn2015|archive-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="NG201410">{{cite magazine|last1=Stone|first1=Dan|date=3 October 2014|title=The Growing Pains of the Ancient Hajj|url=http://onward.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/03/the-growing-pains-of-the-ancient-hajj/|magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717031610/http://onward.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/03/the-growing-pains-of-the-ancient-hajj/|archive-date=17 July 2015|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> {{as of|January 2022|lc=y}}, the mayor is Saleh Al-Turki.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2014476/saudi-arabia | title=Who's Who: Saleh Al-Turki, the new mayor of Makkah | date=29 January 2022 }}</ref> The City of Mecca {{transliteration|ar|[[Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia|amanah]]}}, which constitutes Mecca and the surrounding region, is the capital of the Mecca Province, which includes the neighbouring cities of Jeddah and [[Taif]], even though Jeddah is considerably larger in population than Mecca. [[House of Saud|Prince]] [[Khalid Al-Faisal]] has been the provincial governor since 16 May 2007.<ref>{{cite web|date=16 May 2007|title=Prince Khalid Al Faisal appointed as governor of Makkah region|url=http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=450421|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230063703/http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=450421|archive-date=30 December 2007|access-date=1 January 2008|publisher=Saudi Press Agency}}</ref>