There was one thing I found myself quietly longing for before our journey to Egypt even began: the sound of the Azan. Living in Europe, it’s something you rarely hear- and yet, somehow, you feel its absence. That gentle, grounding call carries a sense of calm and belonging that’s hard to put into words, but easy to miss once you’ve known it.
Before diving into our personal experiences, I want to take a step back. This second blog post is dedicated to something deeper - the story behind it all. The history of Mecca is not just a timeline of events, but a narrative filled with meaning, faith, and centuries of devotion.
Mecca is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the Arabian Peninsula and today serves as the spiritual centre of Islam. Millions of Muslims around the world turn toward this city every day during their prayers. However, the history of Mecca goes far beyond the emergence of Islam and combines religion, trade, politics, and cultural transformation.
The Earliest Origins
Islamic tradition traces the origins of Mecca back to the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).
According to tradition, Ibrahim brought his wife Hajar (Hagar) and his son Ismail (Ishmael) to a dry and barren valley in what is now the region of the Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia.
When their water ran out, Hajar desperately searched for help between the hills of Safa and Marwa. During this search, a spring miraculously appeared — the well known as the Zamzam Well, which still exists today and is considered sacred.
Later, Ibrahim returned and, together with his son Ismail, built the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure that Muslims believe to be the house dedicated to the worship of one God.
Mecca Before Islam
Centuries later, Mecca developed into an important trading center. The city was strategically located along major caravan routes connecting Yemen, Syria, and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
During this period, the powerful tribe of the Quraysh controlled the city.
Even before Islam, the Kaaba was already an important religious sanctuary. However, at that time it was associated with the worship of many different deities. Numerous idols belonging to different Arab tribes were placed inside and around the Kaaba, and pilgrims from across the region traveled to Mecca to worship them.
Because of this, Mecca became both a religious pilgrimage destination and a prosperous commercial hub.
The Time of Muhammad and the Birth of Islam
In the year 570 CE, the Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca.
At around the age of forty, he began preaching the message that there is only one God. This teaching challenged the social and religious order of Mecca and was strongly opposed by many leaders of the Quraysh tribe, who feared losing their influence and economic power.
In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to the city of Medina. This event is known as the Hijra and marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Several years later, Muhammad returned to Mecca with his followers. In what is known as the Conquest of Mecca (630 CE), the city came under Muslim control. The idols in the Kaaba were removed, and the sanctuary was rededicated to the worship of the one God.
Mecca in the Islamic Empires
After the death of Muhammad, Mecca remained the most important religious city in Islam. However, political power in the Islamic world was often centered in other cities such as Damascus or Baghdad.
Over the centuries, Mecca came under the influence of several major Islamic dynasties and empires, including:
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the Umayyad Caliphate
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the Abbasid Caliphate
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the Ottoman Empire
Despite these political changes, Mecca always remained the central destination for Muslim pilgrimage.
Mecca in the Modern Era
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and control of the region changed. After several conflicts and political developments, Mecca eventually became part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was officially established in 1932.
Since then, the city has undergone enormous transformation. Large expansions of the Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque) have been built to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims who travel to Mecca every year.
Mecca Today
Today, Mecca is accessible only to Muslims and remains one of the most significant religious centers in the world.
Every year, millions of Muslims travel there to perform the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of Islam. Many also perform the smaller pilgrimage known as Umrah, which can be undertaken at any time of the year.
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