Mecca

Fierce storms closed schools Wednesday in Saudi Arabia's Mecca region, home to Islam's holiest site, the Grand Mosque, which was lashed by heavy rains and wind overnight, witnesses said. As pilgrims tried to circumambulate the Kaaba, the giant black cube towards which all Muslims pray, a bolt of lightning struck…

In a bid to preserve the sacred atmosphere surrounding the holiest site in Islam, authorities have designated Mecca as a no-fly zone, prohibiting planes from flying over the city. The primary reason behind this decision is of a religious nature, aiming to ensure an undisturbed experience for the millions of…

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — For Zainab Abdu, the holiest sites in Islam were the backdrop for her weekends growing up. Raised in Mecca, Abdu remembers roller-skating with friends near the Grand Mosque where the Kaaba is located. The desert plains and valleys that throng with pilgrims every year are…

Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia Largest Hajj pilgrimage in history begins in Mecca, Saudi Arabia The number of pilgrims this year has broken the records with about 2.5 million Muslims attending The islamic pilgrimage begun as crowds of Muslims wearing white robes circle the Kaaba, the cubed structure at the epicentre…

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Some 2 million Muslim pilgrims officially began the annual Hajj pilgrimage on Monday, making their way out of Mecca after circling Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba, and converging on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert for a day and night of prayer. One…

Back to homepage / Middle East Vast crowds of robed pilgrims made solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque, on Sunday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years began in the heat of the Saudi summer. Issued on: 25/06/2023 - 09:19Modified: 25/06/2023 - 12:01 3…

Huge crowds of pilgrims throng the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest site, as the biggest hajj in years gets underway in the searing Saudi Arabian heat. MECCA, Saudi Arabia: Vast crowds of robed pilgrims made solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque, on Sunday…

Vast crowds of robed Muslim faithful walked solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Mecca's Grand Mosque on Sunday to begin the biggest hajj pilgrimage in several years, in the heat of the Saudi summer. Islam's holiest site is expected to host more than two million worshippers from…

The sons of Shaybah and their descendants continue to have the guardianship of the Kaaba. A tradition that the Prophet started after conquering Mecca in the eighth year following the Hijra. Then he gave Uthman Ibn Abi Talha the city’s key and said that the line of Shaybah’s sons had…

Saudis and foreign residents circumambulate (Tawaf) the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca, on October 4, 2020, as authorities partially resume the year-round Umrah for a limited number of pilgrims amid extensive health precautions after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus. AFPMask-clad Muslims circled Islam’s holiest…