Makkah

About Makkah

Makkah is the holiest city in Islam, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the direction toward which Muslims everywhere turn in prayer. At its heart the Kaaba stands in the courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram, and every year millions of pilgrims arrive for the Hajj or for Umrah, making it one of the most visited cities on earth. Entry to the city is reserved for Muslims, and visits are organised around worship rather than sightseeing.

The city lies in a narrow valley of the Sarawat mountains, about an hour inland from Jeddah and the Red Sea. Its rocky hills hold places tied to the earliest days of Islam: the Cave of Hira on Jabal al-Nour, where the first revelation came, and the cave on Jabal Thawr where the Prophet sheltered during the migration to Madinah.

During the Hajj, pilgrims move east from the Haram to the tent city of Mina, the plain of Arafat and Muzdalifah. Around the mosque, modern Makkah is dominated by towering hotels and the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, while museums explain the history of the Two Holy Mosques and the making of the Kaaba's black covering.