Mecca is Islam’s holiest city. Muslims turn toward Mecca five times a day to pray.
Mecca is located in Saudi Arabia, in a narrow valley about 50 miles from the Red Sea. It was a trading center originally.
Islam was founded in Mecca by the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th century. The Ka’ba, a cubed-shaped, black brick building, is the center of Islam. Al-Haram Mosque (the Great Mosque) surrounds the Ka’ba and the modern city of Mecca surrounds the mosque.
Only Muslims are allowed to visit Mecca. All able-bodied Muslims who have enough money to make the journey must perform a spiritual Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca at least once in their life. During the Hajj, pilgrims must wear special white clothes and cannot do things like shave, cut their nails, wear jewelry, kill or hunt, or fight or argue.
More than 2 million Muslims from 70 countries take part in the annual Hajj. Many travel thousands of miles to reach the holy city. While there, they perform certain rituals. After entering al-Haram Mosque, they walk around the Ka’ba seven times in a counter-clockwise direction, a ritual called the Tawaf. They must also run seven times along one of the passageways in the mosque. This ritual honors the search for water by Hajar, the Prophet Abraham’s wife.
The crowds of people and the heat have created problems in the past. Many pilgrims have died of heat stroke; many others have died after being crushed in stampedes or caught in fires or as a result of violent political demonstrations. The government of Saudi Arabia has set a fixed number of pilgrims who are allowed to come from each country each year to try to overcome these problems.
More than 2 million Muslims from 70 countries take part in the annual Hajj. Many travel thousands of miles to reach the holy city. While there, they perform certain rituals. After entering al-Haram Mosque, they walk around the Ka’ba seven times in a counter-clockwise direction, a ritual called the Tawaf. They must also run seven times along one of the passageways in the mosque. This ritual honors the search for water by Hajar, the Prophet Abraham’s wife.
The crowds of people and the heat have created problems in the past. Many pilgrims have died of heat stroke; many others have died after being crushed in stampedes or caught in fires or as a result of violent political demonstrations. The government of Saudi Arabia has set a fixed number of pilgrims who are allowed to come from each country each year to try to overcome these problems.
