The setting
Makkah al-Mukarramah lies in the central west of the Kingdom, in the valley of Ibrahim al-Khalil, about 330 m above sea level and some 80 km from the Red Sea. The city covers 3,004 km² and is the administrative capital of Makkah al-Mukarramah Province. Its terrain is largely volcanic, rising in the east to Jabal al-Tariqi, east of Mina, the highest peak in the city at about 900 m.
Its many names include Umm al-Qura and al-Balad al-Amin. The 2022 census counted 2,427,924 residents, about 21 million visitors arrive each year, and during Hajj the population roughly doubles.
Mountains of revelation
On a summit northeast of the city is the cave of Hira, where the Prophet worshipped and where Jibril first came to him. To the south, Ghar Thawr on Jabal Thawr, at roughly 760 m, is tied to the Hijra, when the Prophet and Abu Bakr took refuge there from Quraysh.
Beside Jabal Hira, the Hira Cultural District, inaugurated in 2023 across more than 67,000 m², gathers a cultural library, the Revelation Exhibition, a Quran museum and the Saudi Coffee Museum. In the Umm al-Joud district, a dedicated complex weaves the Kiswa of the Kaaba.