Mecca & Medina, Saudi Arabia

Central Region

About KSA

The Holy Cities

Mecca & Medina

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Throughout these pages, my comments, are in maroon italic type.

Most visitors to Saudi Arabia come solely to visit Mecca, just inland from Jeddah. Mecca is Islam's holiest city and all devout Muslims, wherever they live in the world, are supposed to make the pilgrimage (or Hajj) to Mecca at least once in their life time. There are checkpoints along the roads to the city to stop non-muslims from coming too close.
The center of Mecca is the grand Mosque and the sacred Zamzam well, inside it. The Kaaba, which all Muslims face when they pray, is the mosque's central courtyard.
http://lonelyplanet.com/destinations/middle_east/saudi_arabia/attractions.htm

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Mecca at Hajj

Keep in mind that every dot you see is a person performing his prayer. This includes on the roof, around the three domes as well as all the walkways around the outside of the mosque. PLEASE view the original picture, very nice!

www.justlikebeingthere.com/countris/Saudi+Arabia/

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What is the Kaba?
Arabian inhabitants traced their lineage back to Abraham, the ancestral patriarch of both Jews and Arabs. In the 2nd millennium BC, Abraham left his family home at the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia, and went to dwell in Palestine. His aged wife Sarah appeared to be barren so at her urging Abraham wed a slave, Hagar who bore him a son, Ishmaeal.
A number of years later Sarah gave birth to her own son, Issac. Because this 2nd birth caused friction between the two woman, Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to Mecca, an isolated caravan stop situated on the edge of Arabia's western mountains. He left them with provisions and then returned to Sarah.
Hagar and her son were running out of water but one-day Ishmael dragged his heel through the sand and a spring of clear, cool, water bubbled up beneath his foot. The spring became the well of Zamzam, which would become a landmark to Muslim pilgrims.
The new water source attracted other settlers, giving birth to the city of Mecca. Abraham visited Hagar and with both his sons, constructed the shrine that centuries later would be the holiest place in Islam, known as 'the Kaba'. www.bangalorenet.com/system1/mehnaaz/mecca.htm

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In this picture of the Kaba, to get a sense of it's size, notice the gold belt at the top of the cover, below is a picture of a portion of that belt being made.

Picture: http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/analysis/newsid_73000/73200.stm

Many worshipers

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Kiswah being made

Hand sewn belt of the Kiswah (cover) using gold threads, at a factory in Mecca. Each year the old Kiswah is cut into small pieces and donated as precious gifts to certain individuals and organizations. www.ppsimages.com/pp/clt1p3.html

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It was part of the contradiction too that as we walked out of the Holy Mosque, that was just overwhelming, and in front is the Hilton Hotel and a Burger King! www.cristytrembly.com/saudi.html

all lit up

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Here is an interesting aerial photo of Mecca showing how the Kaba has been expanded and how the surrounding buildings are so close to it.

www.estadao.com.br/ext/galeria/ikonos/janela/gde02/mecca.jpg

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Women's section

In this picture you can see the women's area for prayer. To prevent a man from being distracted from his prayer, a woman is to pray behind the men, but in this case the women have their own section at the holy Kaba in Mecca. sorry no url

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The Hajj:

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can afford the trip and expenses, must perform the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once. About two million muslims from 100 countries will take part in the Hajj each year.
Saudi Arabia has spent several billion dollars over the past decade improving facilities as well as roads and electricity networks. Safety has been a key issue during the Hajj due to the massive crowding.
10 million bottles of water and one million free meals are distributed by the authorities to the pilgrims over two days. It takes 40,000 workers to clean up after the pilgrims.
www.cnn.com/2001/world/meast/03/03/hajj/index.html

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Read my note about The Hajj

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This picture was taken from a local magazine, it shows what Mecca will look like when this company finishes their building project. The buildings will overlook the Kaba, at the lower right is the entrance.

Madinah is the second holiest city in Islam and was in fact the first city to accept the prophet's message (pbuh). The prophet (pbuh) fled to the city, then called Yathrib, from Mecca in AD 622. The most important place in the city is the prophet's mosque (pbuh) which contains his burial place. The city is forbidden to non-muslems. www.mideasttravelnet.com/mideastsite/saudiarabia/cs.htm

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Phrophets Mosque