MAKKAH CITY

[ibib]

Originally Posted by Mesch

Corrupted ?! lol
Mecca is the oldest English transliteration of "مكة". It is the way it was known since forever and it's the closest to the Biblical "Becca".
In pronunciation, Mecca resembles the original Arabic word more than Makkah does. Can't believe me? Ask an American or a Brit to pronounce the two words.
Arabic is a language and English is another. Why in hell do you want to mix the two? What's the point of that other than the amateurish Arab pride and ignorance of history.
I will support writing "Makkah Al-Mukarrammah" (God that's even hard to pronounce for me! An Arabic speaker!) if the Arabic language was Latinized for example but as long as it isn't, Mecca (full name should be: Holy Mecca, Honored Mecca) will have my full support and the international community's support as well.
By that same childish logic, the Arab cities of Cairo, Damascus and Bethlehem will have to be changed into Al-Kahira, Dimashq and Beit Laham. Let's also try changing Jerusalem into Al-Quds! Pfff… lol

@ Koobideh: Yes, it's true. You really should visit, it's a lovely experience.

The biblical "Mecca" simply means a religious destination or place of pilgramage. Nevertheless, it is totally removed from the bible and is mentioned as Paran or simply as the mountain and the framed city in the south. Today, "Mecca" is used for many purposes, well-known even for naming bars and nightclubs. It is not pronounced as "Makkah", therefore english speakers always pronounce the name of the city wrong(except lately, some started to say it right; I think because of the introduction of "Makkah"). The wide bad use of the word and the undefinite meanings attached to it necessitate forcing the correct word and pronounciation in "Makkah". As for the pronounciations of other cities or locations; they don't have any other disrespectful meanings, and Makkah is worth to be associated with everything good. When it comes to such sensetive issues like this one, it is wise to think more of the right decision and not about how english speakers may feel about it.

[Mesch]

Mecca's spirituallity is higher than any of that and Muslims shouldn't be sensitive about having a couple of bars called Mecca or think that the status of Mecca's holiness would be touched by that. Instead of choosing another variation, try re-instating the same original one in people's minds to what it originally means. Surely, projects like Abraj Al-Bait can and did help.
Mecca is also a fairly common female name among Americans and I can remember an American town called Mecca. Why didn't you pick on that?

Btw some versions of the Bible still use the name "Becca". Other versions however might have different names (such as The Valley of Weeping, The Valley south of Paran, or simply Paran) sometimes because of the fact that translations differ and in other times name-changing cases took place deliberately.

[ibib]

Great, we Muslims believe that Makkah is pronounced the right way and doesn't need a deformed version of the name to represent it. I think the name we use is more authentic than the one used in English. The english name went through many changes, we just used the original one "Makkah".

[Mesch]

We Muslims?? lol

[Saudi guy]

that doesn't make any seance, English is not our language how can we request wastern to change their vocab? specially mecca that appeared in torah and bible!

[gohorns]

Originally Posted by ibib

The biblical "Mecca" simply means a religious destination or place of pilgramage. Nevertheless, it is totally removed from the bible and is mentioned as Paran or simply as the mountain and the framed city in the south. Today, "Mecca" is used for many purposes, well-known even for naming bars and nightclubs. It is not pronounced as "Makkah", therefore english speakers always pronounce the name of the city wrong(except lately, some started to say it right; I think because of the introduction of "Makkah"). The wide bad use of the word and the undefinite meanings attached to it necessitate forcing the correct word and pronounciation in "Makkah". As for the pronounciations of other cities or locations; they don't have any other disrespectful meanings, and Makkah is worth to be associated with everything good. When it comes to such sensetive issues like this one, it is wise to think more of the right decision and not about how english speakers may feel about it.

Really good points. I was going to say the same thing. Mecca has negative connotations in English (as its use has been demonstrated in, but not limited to, the pictures above) so I definitely prefer Makkah.

[Muqeem]

King Abdullah, President Musarraf and Others During Holy Kabah GUSL :
image hosted on flickr


Le Meridian Towers
Area: 165,000 sq m
8 hotel towers (22 floors each)




Sheraton Makkah Hotel


OIC Muslim Countries Summit in Makkah :

Sudan President, King Abdullah, Iran President, OIC S.C in Makkah Holy Mosque.




OIC Headquaters in Jeddah - The Capital City of Makkah Provinces :


Gambia President - Al Haj Yahya in OIC Summit in Makkah.


Saudi Arabian Former Oil Minister Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani Giving Speech in a Mawlid un Nabi (MILAD UN NABI) - The Birthday of Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H), sitting next to him Saudi Sufi Scholar Sayyid 'Abdullah Fadeq in Jeddah - Makkah Provinces, Saudi Arabia.




Dr.Yousef Qaradawi, center and others during conference of interfaith dialogue with Christianity and Islam in mecca city.


King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (C) and Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh (L) welcoming Irans influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (R) at the International Islamic Conference in the holy city of Mecca on June 04, 2008.




King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, right welcomes Shiite Iranian politician Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.




During Heavy Rains & Floods in Jeddah.


King Abdulah presses a button to open the Zamzam project water in Makkah.


ZAMZAM WELL in Holy Mosque in Makkah.
image hosted on flickr








MAQAAM E IBRAHIM in Holy Mosque in Makkah.


AL Safa Palace (Qasr Safa, the Kings Palace )in Makkah.

image hosted on flickr






Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah receives the Agricola Medal from Director-General Jacques Diouf of the Food and Agriculture Organization at the Safa Palace in Makkah.




King Abdullah is conferred a doctorate degree by Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari and Umm Al-Qura University President Dr. Bakri bin Maetouk Assas in Makkah.

[Muqeem]

Makkah Security & SECURITY IN THE HOLY MOSQUE :



THE Mutawi'oon (also spelled muttawa or mutawi,) - Saudi Religious Police :
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice :

*It currently has a work force of 10,000 members with 486 centers in all of the Kingdom’s 13 regions.

Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ghaith - Former President of Saudi Vice Police (mutawieen):

http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1&...=25&m=3&y=2007


http://www.ordoesitexplode.com/me/2007/06/page/2/

Current President of Saudi Vice Police (mutawieen) is Shaikh Ali Bin Mohammad Al Hayyan. :

Shaikh Al Hayyan at the bowling arena.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/faisal..._b_489130.html



Head Quater in Riyadh of the Saudi religious police.

http://mideast.blogs.time.com/2007/1...ligious_polic/

Ahmed Al Ghamdi head of Makkah religious police

http://riyadhciti.com/2010/01/mixing...ble-after-all/


Capt. Abu Shanab briefs the press about Civil Defense's work in the monitoring room.








63,000 security personnel have been deployed to carry out security-related duties for Haj , according to Major General Nasser Al Harfej, commander of the Security Forces for the Haj.

Saudi special forces display some of their skills and equipment during a ceremony as they prepare for the influx of people to participate in the Hajj, in Arafat 15 kms outside of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-...g-haj-1.531596

Security room inside The Great Mosque in Makkah.
image hosted on flickr


Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar chairs a meeting of officials of the Ministry of Transport and the Traffic Department at his office.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article36175.ece

Saudi security personnel and Hajj pilgrims carry a suspected criminal after they captured him in Mina, outside of Makkah, February 11, 2003. The Hajj attracts many beggars and pickpockets who roam the streets packed with pilgrims.

http://www.zawaj.com/events/hajj2003/more_photos.html

Saudi police from the Hajj special parading in armored vehicles during a ceremony in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.









Saudi Arabian riot police drive on during a military parade for Hajj security outside Islamic holy city Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

http://www.theodoresworld.net/archiv...12/post_3.html





Saudi police watch millions of pilgrims as they crowd to throw stones at a pillar representing the devil.




in Mina, outside of Mecca.


image hosted on flickr

[Muqeem]

Abraj Al Bait Towers :

Location - Makkah Near Holy Mosque, Saudi Arabia
Status - Under construction (2010)
Groundbreaking - 2004
Estimated completion - 27/December/2010
Opening - 2011
Use - Mixed use
Height - Antenna or spire 601 m (1,972 ft)
Floor count - 95

Companies :
Architect - Dar Al-Handasah
Contractor - Saudi Binladin Group

TOWERS :

1. HOTEL TOWER
a) Height - 601 m (1,972 ft)
b) Floors - 95

2. HAJAR TOWER
a) Height - 260 m (850 ft)
b) Floors - 48

3. ZAM ZAM TOWER
a) Height - 260 m (850 ft)
b) Floors - 48

4) MAQAM TOWER
a) Height - 250 m (820 ft)
b) Floors - 45

5) QIBLA TOWER
a) Height - 250 m (820 ft)
b) Floors - 45

6) MARWAH TOWER
a) Height - 240 m (790 ft)
b) Floors - 42

7) SAFA TOWER
a) Height - 240 m (790 ft)
b) Floors - 42

The Abraj Al-Bait Towers also known as the "Mecca Royal Clock Hotel Tower" is a complex under construction in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by the Saudi Binladin Group. Upon completion, the tallest tower in the complex would stand as the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, and the tallest and largest hotel in the world, with a planned height of 601 m (1,972 ft). Upon completion, the structure would have the largest floor area of any structure in the world with 1,500,000 m2 (16,150,000 sq ft) of floorspace. This is the same as Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates which is also under construction. It will also surpass the Emirates Park Towers in Dubai as the world's tallest hotel. It is also the second tallest building under construction. The entire project is estimated to be completed in the autumn of 2011.

The site of the complex is located across the street to the south from an entrance to the Masjid al Haram, which houses the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam. In order to start construction, the historic Ottoman Ajyad Fortress had to be first completely demolished. To accommodate worshippers who visit the Kaaba, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a large prayer room capable of holding nearly ten thousand people. The tallest tower in the complex will also contain a seven-star hotel to help provide lodging for the over five million pilgrims who travel to Mecca annually to participate in hajj.

In addition, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers will have a four-story shopping mall and a parking garage capable of holding over a thousand vehicles. Residential towers will house permanent residents while two heliports and a conference center are to accommodate business travelers. In total, up to 100,000 people could be housed inside the towers. The project will use clock faces for each side of the hotel tower. The highest residential floor will be at 450 m (1,480 ft), just below the clocks. The clock faces will be 43 × 43 m (141 × 141 ft), the largest in the world. The roof of the clocks will be 530 m (1,740 ft) above the ground, making them the world's most elevated architectural clocks. A 71 m (233 ft) tall spire will be added on top of the clock giving it a total height of 601 m (1,972 ft), which will make it the second tallest building in the world when completed.

Clock Face :

The hotel tower is topped by a four-faced clock, which is billed by Saudi Arabia as the largest clock in the world. The clock will dwarf London's Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, as well as the current title holder, the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The dials are more than five times greater in area. Each of the clock's four faces are 151 feet in diameter and will be illuminated by 2 million LED lights, along with huge Arabic script reading: "God is Greatest." Another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to as far as 19 miles. The Saudi coat of arms is displayed at the center of each clock behind the dials. The clock's dials are also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall clock in Istanbul, which has a 36 meter face set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.



A three-month test run for the clock started on 11 August 2010 (1st Ramadhan, 1431 Hijri). Only one of the clock's four faces has so far been completed and is covered with 98 million pieces of glass mosaics. Each face will be inscribed with "God is greatest" in Arabic and fitted with thousands of colored lights. The clock will be visible from more than 16 miles (25 kilometers).

German and Swiss engineers designed the clock and according to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, the entire project will cost $800 million . The clock will run on Arabian standard time, (+3 GMT).









image hosted on flickr






image hosted on flickr


Abraj Al Bait Mall
image hosted on flickr


Tarawih in Abraj Al Bait Mall
image hosted on flickr










Fire at the Abraj Al-Bait




image hosted on flickr




image hosted on flickr

[idealclass]

Originally Posted by ibib

The biblical "Mecca" simply means a religious destination or place of pilgramage. Nevertheless, it is totally removed from the bible and is mentioned as Paran or simply as the mountain and the framed city in the south. Today, "Mecca" is used for many purposes, well-known even for naming bars and nightclubs. It is not pronounced as "Makkah", therefore english speakers always pronounce the name of the city wrong(except lately, some started to say it right; I think because of the introduction of "Makkah"). The wide bad use of the word and the undefinite meanings attached to it necessitate forcing the correct word and pronounciation in "Makkah". As for the pronounciations of other cities or locations; they don't have any other disrespectful meanings, and Makkah is worth to be associated with everything good. When it comes to such sensetive issues like this one, it is wise to think more of the right decision and not about how english speakers may feel about it.

Mecca bar is in Seattle where I live, I went in to ask them what the hell they're doing, they had no idea what Makkah is lol. So ibib is right, the word "mecca" means the place of gathering doesnt matter if its religious or not.

[Mesch]

I think I've stated that earlier on. That should make us proud and not change the entire name

[Muqeem]

PAKISTAN President General Musharraf.




Seneghal President Abdoulaye Wade.






Jordan King Abdullah.




Jordan King Abdullah with Makkah Governor.

[anone]

I received these pictures from a colleague.

ســــــاعة مكة المكرمـــــــة
انظر في الاسفل: عما يحدث خلف الكواليس أثناء إنشاء هذه الساعة العملاقة جداً ــ سوف تلاحظون حجم عقارب الساعة بالنسبة للإنسان والمكائن الضخمة التي يصل وزنها إلى 21 طن كيف تم رفعها إلى إرتفاع أكثر من 600 متر ليتم تثبيتها في مكانها المخصص ...

[Muqeem]

Very Very Good Photos.

[DAMIMAHOM]

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[GulfArabia]

^ badly photoshoped :p but it was from an interesting article

[abdullahabin]

Are there any slums in Mekkah?

[3baaad 4 Jeddah]

image hosted on flickr

[Mesch]

Great picture! I just wish that someone could do something about those ugly looking houses/3amayer.

[3baaad 4 Jeddah]

Originally Posted by Mesch

Great picture! I just wish that someone could do something about those ugly looking houses/3amayer.

في مره رحت مكة و طبعن اول ما دخلنا قابلنا جبل كلو عشوائيات
المفروض الحكومة تسوي حل مع هادي العشوائيات

مثلا ترمي قنابل على الجبال

بس قبل ما ترمي تحذر الناس و اللي يبغو يموت ما نقولو لأ اقعد في بيتك