 |
SOPHIA OF WISDOM III - MECCA
PICTURE BELOW
THE LIBRARY OF SOPHIA OF WISDOM III
THE SOPHIA OF ALL SOPHIA OF WISDOMS
AKA
CAROLINE E. KENNEDY, JR._______________________
JAN 21, 2007
RE: MECCA
****NOTES FROM SOPHIA OF WISDOM III AKA CAROLINE E. KENNEDY,JR....NINA ALVES WANTED TO SEE IF I WAS THE ONLY LIGHT BEFORE TIME AND SHE TOOK ALOT OF ORMUS AND FLEW PAST ME IN TIME AND HIT A WALL AND SLIDE DOWN THEYN SHE TOLD DANIEL GIBBSON DID THE SAME THING BUT WHEN FORWARD IN TIME AND HIT A WALL AND SLIDE DOWN...THIS PROVES MY THEORY THAT THE UNIVERSE IN A BIG BLACK BOX....
Mecca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see Mecca (disambiguation).
Mecca
Makkah al-Mukarramah
مكة المكرمة
Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 21°25′N 39°49′E
Province Makkah
Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdul Aziz
Area
- City 26 km²
- Land ? km²
- Water ? km²
Elevation 277 m
Population (2004)
- City 1,294,168
Mecca IPA: [ˈmækə] or Makkah IPA: [ˈmɛkə] (in full: Makkah al-Mukarramah IPA: [(Arabic) mækːæ(t) ælmʊkarˑamæ]; Arabic: مكة المكرمة, Persian: مکه, Turkish and Kurdish: Mekke, Urdu: مکہ مکرمہ) is the capital city of Saudi Arabia's Makkah province, in the historic Hejaz region. It has a population of 1,294,167 (2004 census). The city is located 73 kilometres (45 miles) inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres (909 ft) above sea level. It is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Red Sea.
The city is revered as the holiest site of Islam, and a pilgrimage to it is required of all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go, at least once in their lifetime. Muslims regard the al-Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque) as the holiest place on Earth.
The term 'Mecca' has come into common usage metaphorically to mean any all-important site for any particular group of people, or a main attraction in a certain place or group of people that has a large turnout. In the 1980s the government of Saudi Arabia changed the official English transliteration of the city's name from 'Mecca', as it had been and continues to be commonly spelled by westerners, to 'Makkah'; an explanation is given below.
Contents [hide]
1 The city
1.1 Transportation
1.2 Public services
2 People
3 Government
4 History
5 Current status
6 Importance
7 Non-Muslims and Mecca
8 Spelling
9 Economy
10 References to Mecca in ancient texts
10.1 In the Torah/Bible
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 External links
[edit] The city
Mecca is at an elevation of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. The city is situated between mountains, which has defined the expansion of the contemporary expansion of the city. The city centers around the Masjid al-Haram. The area around the mosque comprises the old city. The main avenues are Al-Mudda'ah and Sūq al-Layl to the north of the mosque, and As-Sūg as Saghīr to the south. Houses near the mosque have been razed and replaced with open spaces and wide streets. Residential complexes are more compacted in the old city than in residential areas. Traditional homes are built of local rock and are two to three stories. The city has a few slums, where poor pilgrims who were unable to finance a trip home after the hajj settled.[1]
[edit] Transportation
Transportation facilities related to the hajj are the main services available. Mecca has no airport, water, or rail service. Paved roads and modern expressways link Mecca with other cities in Saudi Arabia. The city has good roads. Most pilgrims access the city through the hajj terminal in Jiddah.[2]
[edit] Public services
The Mecca water supply is dependent on surrounding areas drinking water. There is a spring, named Zubaydah, about 20 miles west, which provides water for the city. Electricity is supplied to almost all homes and businesses in the city by an oil power plant. Education is provided to both boys and girls through the university level. The Umm al-Qura University is located in Mecca, as well as two other colleges. Health care is provided for free in the city, but diseases are still often brought in from outside.[3]
[edit] People
Population density in Mecca is very high. Most of the people who live in Mecca live in the old city. The city averages four million tourists a year during the hajj. Despite the fact that only Muslims are allowed in the city, Mecca is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.[4]
[edit] Government
The governor of Mecca is appointed by the king of Saudi Arabia. A municipal councial of fourteen locally elected members is responsible for the functioning of the municipality. Mecca is the capitol of the Makkah province.[5]
[edit] History
The Kaaba, a large cubical building now surrounded by the Sacred Mosque, is said by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and has been a religious center ever since. Muslim sources says that when Abraham came, because of floods and with the passage of time Kaaba had been razed to the ground and there was no indication of it. Through divine inspiration he discovered its original foundations and with the help of his son Ishmael constructed a roofless building.[6]
The date of the founding of Mecca is prehistoric. The city was a trading center about 400 CE, the people were polytheists and statues of their idols stood at the kabba.
Before the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Mecca was under the control of the Banu Quraish, which, according to traditions, directly descends from Khaidar, the second son of Ismail. Descendants of this tribe today refer to themselves as Qurayshis and are predominantly Muslim. Historians generally agree that Mecca was a shrine and trading center for a number of generations before Muhammad. The extent of Meccan trade has been hotly debated. Some historians believe that Mecca was a waypoint on a land route from southern Arabia north to the Roman and Byzantine empires, and that Arabian and Indian Ocean spices were funneled through Mecca.
According to the Qur'ān and Muslim traditions, the city was attacked by an Ethiopian Aksumite army lead by Abraha in 570, the year of Muhammad's birth. The attack was said to have been repelled by the dropping of stones by thousands of birds, followed by a plague. Muhammad, a member of the Banu Quraish exiled from the city for preaching against paganism, returned to the city in triumph in 630 CE and after removing the cult images from the Kaaba, dedicated it as the center of Muslim pilgrimage. (For further information, see the main article, Conquest of Mecca.)
After the rise of the Islamic empire, Mecca attracted pilgrims from all over the extensive empire, as well as a year-round population of scholars, pious Muslims who wished to live close to the Kaaba, and local inhabitants who served the pilgrims. Due to the difficulty and expense of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage was small compared to the millions that swell Mecca today. Nevertheless most Arabs, as far as Yemen and eastern shores of Arabia, took part in it. The city was small. 18th and 19th century maps and pictures show a small walled city of mud-brick houses crowded around the mosque.
Mecca was never the capital of the Islamic empire; the first capital was Medina, some 250 miles (400 km) away. The capital of the caliphate soon moved to Kufa by the fourth rightly guided Caliph Hazarat Ali and then to Damascus by Ummayads and then Baghdad by Abbasids. Mecca re-entered Islamic history briefly when it was held by Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr, an early Muslim who opposed the Umayyad caliphs. The caliph Yazid I besieged Mecca in 683 CE. Thereafter the city figured little in politics; it was a city of devotion and scholarship. For centuries it was governed by the Hashemite Sharifs of Mecca, descendants of Muhammad by his grandson Hassan ibn Ali. The Sharifs ruled on behalf of whatever caliph or Muslim ruler had declared himself the Guardian of the Two Shrines. Mecca was attacked and sacked by Ismaili Muslims in 930 CE and by Wahhabi Muslims in 1803. In 1926, the Sharifs of Mecca were overthrown by the Saudis, and Mecca was incorporated into Saudi Arabia.
[edit] Current status
1787 Turkish map of MeccaThe city has grown substantially in the last several decades, as the convenience and affordability of jet travel has increased the number of pilgrims participating in the Hajj. Thousands of Saudis are employed year-round to oversee the Hajj and staff the hotels and shops that cater to pilgrims; these workers in turn have increased the demand for housing and services.
As the city expands, freeways, shopping malls, and skyscrapers have been built.
[edit] Importance
Main article: Hajj
For Muslims, a pilgrimage to Mecca called the Hajj is required as one of the Five Pillars of the faith. In recent years, about two to three million have gathered for the major pilgrimage, during the Muslim month of Zil al-Hijjah, and many more perform the minor pilgrimage or Umrah, which may be performed at any time of year except the days of Hajj.
City map of modern-day MeccaThe focal point of Mecca is the Ka'bah (or Kaaba). The "House of God" was believed to have been rebuilt by Abraham and his son Ishmael, it is covered in a gold-embroidered black fabric (kiswah). The pilgrims circle the Ka'bah seven times and may also try to touch or kiss its cornerstone, the Hajar Aswad/Black Stone. Pilgrims then drink from the well of Zamzam. Muslims believe that the waters of Zamzam possess special properties and health benefits. Few pilgrims return from the Hajj without a large plastic bottle of the Zamzam water.
During the Hajj the pilgrims travel to Mina, a small village, where Iblis (the Devil), symbolised by stone columns, is ritually stoned. They then proceed to the Hill of Arafat, a site for prayers, where the prophet Muhammad delivered The Farewell Sermon.
The importance of Mecca for Muslims is inestimable. All Muslims, wherever they are on the earth, are required to pray five times a day in the direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca (located at 21°25′21.70″N, 39°49′33.64″E). This direction of prayer is known as the qiblah. Muslims regard al-Masjid al-Haram (or 'The Sacred Mosque') as the holiest place on Earth. All Muslims should travel to Mecca once in their life, if able, which is called Hajj.
[edit] Non-Muslims and Mecca
Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca.[7] Road blocks are stationed along roads leading to the city. As one might expect, the existence of "forbidden cities" and the mystery of the Hajj aroused intense curiosity in European travellers. A number of them pretended to be Muslims and entered the city of Mecca and then the Kaaba to experience the Hajj for themselves. The most famous account of a foreigner's journey to Mecca is A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Al-Madina, written by Sir Richard Francis Burton. Burton traveled as a Qadiri Sufi from Afghanistan; his name, as he signed it in Arabic below his frontpiece portrait for "The Jew, The Gypsy and al-Islam," was al-Hajj 'Abdullah.
The holy mosque centre, showing the Ka'bah after the Friday prayers
[edit] Spelling
Mecca has long been the accepted English spelling for the holy city as a transliteration of the original Arabic. The word has become part of the English language as a metaphor for a site of pilgrimage for people with a particular interest. In an effort to distinguish between the metaphorical and official references to the holy site, the Saudi Arabian government in the 1980s began promoting a new transliteration, Makkah al-Mukarramah, meaning Mecca the Blessed, which is closer to the original Arabic. This new usage has been adopted in many places and by certain organizations, such as the U.S. Department of State, [8] but is not part of the active vocabulary of English-speakers at large. Some leading media organizations such as Reuters, the BBC and New York Times continue to use Mecca.
[edit] Economy
The Meccan economy is almost entirely dependent on money spent by people attending the hajj. The city takes in more than $100 million during the hajj. The Saudi government spends about $50 million on services for the hajj. There are some industries and factories in the city, but Mecca no longer plays a major role in Saudi Arabia's economy, which is mainly based on oil exports.[9] Industries in mecca include textiles, furniture, and utensils. The majority of the economy is service oriented. Because of scarcity of water, foods have to be imported.[10]
[edit] References to Mecca in ancient texts
Crone, in her 1987 book, gives a precis of various Greek and Roman texts thought by some to have referred to Mecca. She argues that there is no hard evidence linking those references to the South Arabian trade to Mecca.
[edit] In the Torah/Bible
Main article: Bakkah
Verse 3:96 in Qur'an calls Mecca as Bakkah, meaning inhabited place, as according to Muslim traditions, it was originally inhabited by Abraham and his son Ishmael.[11] Muslim scholars have also asserted that Mecca was originally called Bakkah. The word Baca exists in the Authorised Version (Ps 84:6), but most modern translations use Valley of Weeping instead of Baca.
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
MeccaIslam
Hajj
Medina
Jerusalem
Hejaz
Hejazi Accent
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah
Islamic architecture
List of famous mosques
Uzza
Manah
Allat
Sharif of Mecca
[edit] Notes
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclopedia Britannica. Fifteenth edition. 2007. Vol 23. P.698-699.
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclopedia Britannica. Fifteenth edition. 2007. Vol 23. P.699.
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclopedia Britannica. Fifteenth edition. 2007. Vol 23. P. 699.
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclpedia Britannica. Fifteenth edition. 2007. Vol 23. P. 699.
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclpedia Britannica. Fifteenth edition. 2007. Vol 23. P. 699.
^ Azraqi, Akhbar Makkah, vol. 1, pp. 58-66
^ Information for the Traveller Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia - London.
^ U.S. Department of State Background Note: Saudi Arabia.
^ Mecca. World Book Encyclopedia. 2003 edition. Volume M. P.353
^ Mecca and Medina. Encyclopedia Britannica. Volume 23, P. 699. 2007
^ Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Mizan, The Rituals of Hajj and ‘Umrah. Al-Mawrid
[edit] References
Rosenthal, Franz; Ibn Khaldun (1967). The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09797-6.
Crone, Patricia -- Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, as published in 1987 by the Princeton University Pres
LIBRARY OF SOPHIA OF WISDOM III
MECCA
Send E-Mail to: libraryofsophia3@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2007 SOPHIA OF WISDOM III - SOPHIA OF ALL SOPHIA OF WISDOMS. All Rights Reserved