Makkah YH
PO Box 5403 King Abdelaziz Sporting, Al-Sharai Old Taif Road, Makkah
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Mecca 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 mi) inland from Jeddah, in the narrow sandy Valley of Abraham, 277 metres (909 ft) above sea level. It is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) 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'. See below for the reasons.
