HOLY CITY OF MECCA.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue 24, 10 November 1924, Page 1

HOLY CITY OF MECCA.

TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PJI GRIMS EACH YEAR.

Mecca, or Makkah, to give it its Arab title, is the holy city of Islam. It is situated two camel marches, or about 45 miles, from the Red Sea. Mecca lies in the heart of a mass of rough hills in front of a mountain wall, which separates the coast lands from the central plateau of Arabia. Holding 1 a position on two great caravan routes, Mecca was'probably one of the earliest trading; centres. Long’ before the days of Mahomet Mecca was established as a trading- centre, and as a privileged holy place. It was surrounded by the Haram, or inviolable territory, which was not much a sanctuary as a place of pilgrimage, where religious observances were associated wtih a series of annual fairs. The unsettled state of the East only allowed commerce to he carried on under the sanctions of religion, and through the provisions of a sacred truce, which prohibited war for foui’ months of the year, three of these being- for pilgrimage. These fetes and fairs were so arranged as to fall in with the period when hides, fruits, and other merchandise were ready for market, and the Meccans, who knew how to attract the Bedouins by hospitality, bought up these wares to exchange for foreign goods, and so became the leaders of international trade in Arabia. The victory of Mohammedanism made a vast change in the position of Mecca. The merchant aristocracy became satraps or pensioners of a great empire, but the seat of dominion was removed beyond the desert, and though Mecca strove for a time to maintain political as well as religious predominance, the struggle was vain, and ended in 692 A.D. The Sanctuary of Mecca received, however, a new prestige from the victory of Islam. Purged of elements obviously heathen, the Ka’ba, because the holiest site, and the pilgrimage the most sacred ritual of Mahqmedanism, drawing worshippers from a very wide circle. The pilgrimage retained its importance for the well-being- of Mecca, for to this day the Meccans live by let-

ting rooms to pilgrims, acting as guides and directors in the sacred ceremonies, as contractors and touts for land and sea transport, as well as exploiting the many benefactions that How into the Holy City. The surrounding- Bedouins derive support from camel-transport and from subsidies they receive to protect or refrain from 'molesting- the pilgrim caravans.

At one period an attempt was made to wall the town, but these only barred the valley at three points, where the gates allowed entry. Both wall and gates have long- since disappeared, and are only a memory, bv reason of the names they have left behind in certain localities. The general aspect of the town is picturesque, its streets' being fairly spacious, though ill-kept and filthy. The houses are all of stone, many of them wellbuilt, and four or live storeys high, with terraced roofs and large projecting windows, a style of building which has not varied materially since the tenth century. Of public institutions there are baths, hospices for poor pilgrims, a hospital, and a public kitchen for the poor. The mosque is also the university hall, where lectures are delivered on Mohammedan law and doctrine, at stated seasons. The minor places of visitation, such as the birthplace of the Prophet, are not notable. The population of Mecca in 1878 was estimated at 50,000 to 00,000, and to-day is supposed to be in the vicinity of 80,000. The annual pilgrimage brings normally at least 200,000 visitors to the city, of whom pilgrims from British India and the Malay States usually number at least 25,000. During the Arab revolt of 1916 the pilgrimages practically ceased, but since then have resumed with vigor, though the latest trouble, for which cable messages during- the past fortnight have given scant information, has most probably again caused a cessation of journeyings by the desert.