Mecca

:This article is about the holy city in Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see Mecca (disambiguation)

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Mecca or Makkah (in full: Makkah al-Mukarramah; ) is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, in the historic Hijaz region. It is located at

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,

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73 kilometers inland from Jaddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 meters (909 feet) above sea level. 80 km from the Red Sea.

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The city is revered as the holiest site of Islam, and a pilgrimage to it is required of all Muslims who can afford to go. The term 'Mecca' has come into common usage metaphorically to mean any all-important site for any particular group of people.

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In the 1980s the government of Saudi Arabia changed the official English transliteration of the city's name from 'Mecca', as it had been known to Westerners for centuries, to 'Makkah'. See below for the reasons.

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Makkah province: Makkah is the most populous province of Saudi Arabia, located in the west of the country, with an extended coastline. It has an area of 164,000 km? and a population of 5,193,100 (1999). Its capital is the sacred city of Mecca....

Hijaz: REDIRECT Hejaz...

Pilgrimage: For other uses of the word pilgrimage, see Pilgrimage (disambiguation)....

Mecca related Images and Photos (experimental)

Moonglow Mecca	Two Men Pray Towards Mecca	Iznik Tile with a Representation of Mecca	Caravan of Pilgrims Cross the Desert to Mecca
Hundreds of Thousands of Pilgrims Perform Friday Prayers at the Great Mosque in Mecca Saudi Arabia	Muslim Pilgrims Performing the Hajj at the Afternoon Prayers Inside the Grand Mosque Mecca	Male and Female Pilgrims in the Approved Costume for Making the Pilgrimage to Mecca