Mecca (/ˈmɛkə/; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah) is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the holiest city in Islam. It is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its last recorded population was 2,385,509 in 2022. Its metropolitan population in 2022 is 2.4million, making it the third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. Around 44.5% of the population are Saudi citizens and around 55.5% are foreigners from other Muslim countries. Pilgrims more than triple the population number every year during the Ḥajjpilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah. With over 10.8 million international visitors in 2023, Mecca was one of the 10 most visited cities in the world.
Mecca is generally considered "the fountainhead and cradle of Islam". Mecca is revered in Islam as the birthplace of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. The Hira cave atop the Jabal al-Nur ("Mountain of Light"), just outside the city, is where Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad. Visiting Mecca for the Ḥajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is home to the Ka'bah, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. It is Islam's holiest site and the direction of prayer (qibla) for all Muslims worldwide. (Full article...)
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
... that Saudi Arabian poet Hamad al-Hajji lost three members of his family during his childhood and later suffered from schizophrenia until he died at the age of 49 after a lung disease?
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Jeddah Tower in May 2021
Jeddah Tower or Burj Jeddah (Arabic: برج جدة), previously known as Kingdom Tower (برج المملكة), is a skyscraper construction project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is planned to be the first 1 km (3,281 ft) tall building and would be the world's tallest building or structure upon completion, standing 180 m (591 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa. Located in the north side of Jeddah, it is the centrepiece of the Jeddah Economic City project. After almost five years of inactivity, development work on the project resumed in 2023.
The design, created by American architect Adrian Smith, who also designed the Burj Khalifa, incorporates many unique structural and aesthetic features. The creator and leader of the project is Saudi Arabian prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a grandson of Ibn Saud, and nephew of the Kings of Saudi Arabia after Ibn Saud. Al-Waleed is the chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), which is a partner in the Jeddah Economic Company (JEC), which was formed in 2009 for the development of Jeddah Tower and City. (Full article...)
Image 1Sunset view from Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.
Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]
Image 3Nasseef House is a historical structure in Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it is a museum and cultural center which has special exhibits and lectures given by historians.
...that land under cultivation has grown from under 400,000 acres (1600 km²) in 1976 to more than eight million acres (32,000 km²) in 1993 due to better irrigation in Saudi Arabia?
Image 11Sections of Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 12Dammam No. 7, the oil well where commercial volumes of oil were first discovered in Saudi Arabia on March 4, 1938. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
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![Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]](/wiki/File:Al_Sawda_peak.jpg)
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