Mecca Province

The Mecca Province (مِنْطَقَة مَكَّة, ˈmin.tʕa.qat ˈmak.ka) is one of the 13 provinces of Saudi Arabia. It is the third-largest province by area at and the most populous with a population of 8,557,766 as of 2017, of which 4,041,189 were foreign nationals and 4,516,577 were Saudis. It is located in the historic Hejaz region, and has an extended coastline on the Red Sea. Its capital is Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, and its largest city is Jeddah, which is Saudi Arabia's main port city. The province accounts for 26.29% of the population of Saudi Arabia and is named after the Islamic holy city of Mecca. Historically, the area was inhabited by the Quraysh, the Banu Kinanah and the Thaqif, among other tribes. Part of the Hejaz region, the province has seen several exchanges of power between many Islamic realms within a short period of time. The province gains its significance as it contains the city of Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, and several other historic Islamic sites, such as the village of Hudaybiyyah, where the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is said to have been agreed upon. More recently, the province was modernized under the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after the oil boom. Most of the population is concentrated in three cities: Jeddah, Mecca and Ta'if. Jeddah is the largest city in the province and the second-largest in Saudi Arabia with an estimated population of 2,867,446 as of 2020. Mecca is the second-largest city in the province and third-largest in the kingdom at 1,323,624. After the city of Ta'if at third place, Rabigh, Shafa, Turbah and Jumum are other populous cities and towns in the region. The region receives Muslim pilgrims of the Umrah and the Hajj around the year and its population increases by up to 2 million during the Hajj. It has approximately of coastline on the Red Sea and hosts oil refineries in Rabigh, port and oil export facilities in Jeddah, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Abdullah Economic City.

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Related concepts (14)

Umrah

The ʿUmrah (عُمْرَة) is an to Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the Ḥajj (hædʒ; ""), which has specific dates according to the Islamic lunar calendar. In accordance to the Shariah (Law of Islam), for both pilgrimages, a Muslim must first assume Ihram, a state of purification achieved by completing cleansing rituals, wearing the prescribed attire, and abstaining from certain actions.

Hijaz Mountains

The Hijaz Mountains (Jibāl al-Ḥijāz (d͡ʒɪˈbaːl alħɪˈdʒaːz)) or "Hejaz Range" is a mountain range located in the Hejazi region of western Saudi Arabia. The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and can thus be treated as including the Midian Mountains, and being part of the Sarawat Mountains, broadly speaking. Geography of Saudi Arabia The western coastal escarpment of the Arabian Peninsula is composed of two mountain ranges, the Hijaz Mountain to the north and the Asir Mountains farther south, with a gap between them near the middle of the peninsula's coastline.

Muzdalifah

Muzdalifah (مُزْدَلِفَة) is an open and level area near Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia that is associated with the Ḥajj (""). It lies just southeast of Mina, on the route between Mina and Arafat. The stay at Muzdalifah is preceded by a day at Mount Arafat, consisting of glorifying God, repeating the duʿāʾ (Supplication), repentance to God, and asking him for forgiveness. At Arafat, Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr prayers are performed in a combined and abbreviated form during the time of Zuhr.