Mecca, Arabic Makkah, ancient Bakkah, city, western Saudi Arabia, located in the Ṣirāt Mountains, inland from the Red Sea coast. It is the holiest of Muslim cities. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca, and it is toward this religious centre that Muslims turn five times daily in prayer (see qiblah). All devout and able Muslims attempt a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Because it is sacred, only Muslims are allowed to enter the city.
In the 20th and 21st centuries the city underwent vast improvements. The area around the religious shrines was cleared, the mosque enlarged, housing and sanitation improved,
and transportation facilities enhanced. As a result, Mecca can accommodate the continually increasing number of pilgrims, or hajjis. Area 10 square miles (26 square km). Pop. (2010) 1,534,731.
Mecca is situated at an elevation of 909 feet (277 metres) above sea level in the dry beds of the Wadi Ibrāhīm and several of its short tributaries. It is surrounded by the Ṣirāt Mountains,
the peaks of which include Mount (Jabal) Ajyad, which rises to 1,332 feet, and Mount Abū Qubays, which attains 1,220 feet, to the east and Mount Quʿayqʿān, which reaches 1,401 feet,
to the west. Mount Hirāʾ rises to 2,080 feet on the northeast and contains a cave in which Muhammad sought isolation and visions before he became a prophet.
