page_title: Mecca
hierarchical_section_title: Mecca
caption_attribution_description: English: Plains of Arafat on the Day of Hajj. Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
context_page_description: Mecca or Makkah is a city in Saudi Arabia. As of the 2004 census, 1,294,169 people lived there. The city is 73 kilometres inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham. It is 277 metres above sea level. It is 81 kilometres from the Red Sea.
  Mecca is the holiest city in the Islamic world. Every year, millions of Muslims take a pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj. They follow in the footsteps of Muhammad. All Muslims who are able to perform the Hajj are expected to do so at least once in their life. The Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram, are the holiest mosques in Islam. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims except for some journalists reporting on the Hajj.
context_section_description: Mecca or Makkah (called Mecca in older texts, officially: Makkah al-Mukarramah; Arabic: مكة المكرمة‎) is a city in Saudi Arabia. As of the 2004 census, 1,294,169 people lived there. The city is 73 kilometres (45 mi) inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham. It is 277 metres (909 ft) above sea level. It is 81 kilometres (50 mi) from the Red Sea. 
  Mecca is the holiest city in the Islamic world. Every year, millions of Muslims take a pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj. They follow in the footsteps of Muhammad. All Muslims who are able to perform the Hajj are expected to do so at least once in their life. The Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram, are the holiest mosques in Islam. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims except for some journalists reporting on the Hajj.
caption: A view of Makkah during the Hajj, with Mt. Arafat in the distance.
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