Mecca
MECCA
Ancient city (sometimes rendered as Makka) in the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula; the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad and the holiest city in Islam. Mecca has been the spiritual and historical pole of the Muslim faithful since the seventh century; it is the place toward which all Muslims orient themselves during prayer, and the destination of the annual hajj, or pilgrimage, made by pious Muslims. It is the site of the Ka?ba and the well of Zamzam, sites of veneration since, as Muslims believe, Abraham passed by them. Near the Ka?ba are the tombs of Isma?il (Ishmael) and his mother, Hagar.
Mecca is located east of the Red Sea port of Jeddah, and is dominated by Mount Arafat. Once an important commercial station on the road between Syria and Yemen, this city was in ancient times already a place of pilgrimage for Arab tribes, where polytheistic cults abounded, although archaelogical excavations are rarely conducted because of the growth of the city and religious sensibilities.