Mecca is generally considered "the fountainhead and cradle of Islam". Mecca is revered in Islam as the birthplace of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. The Hira cave atop the Jabal al-Nur ("Mountain of Light"), just outside the city, is where Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad. Visiting Mecca for the Ḥajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is home to the Ka'bah, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. It is Islam's holiest site and the direction of prayer (qibla) for all Muslims worldwide. (Full article...)
... that Saudi Arabian poet Hamad al-Hajji lost three members of his family during his childhood and later suffered from schizophrenia until he died at the age of 49 after a lung disease?
... that Saudi Arabian historian Sa'd ibn Junaydil took high school graduation exams with his students, as he had yet to obtain a high school diploma?
... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
The Kaaba (pictured here in 2003), which was severely damaged by fire during the siege
The siege of Mecca in September–November 683 was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. The city of Mecca was a sanctuary for Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who was among the most prominent challengers to the dynastic succession to the Caliphate by the UmayyadYazid I. After nearby Medina, the other holy city of Islam, also rebelled against Yazid, the Umayyad ruler sent an army to subdue Arabia. The Umayyad army defeated the Medinans and took the city, but Mecca held out in a month-long siege, during which the Kaaba was damaged by fire. The siege ended when news came of Yazid's sudden death. The Umayyad commander, Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni, after vainly trying to induce Ibn al-Zubayr to return with him to Syria and be recognized as Caliph, departed with his forces. Ibn al-Zubayr remained in Mecca throughout the civil war, but he was nevertheless soon acknowledged as Caliph across most of the Muslim world. It was not until 692, that the Umayyads were able to send another army which again besieged and captured Mecca, ending the civil war. (Full article...)
Image 1Nasseef House is a historical structure in Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it is a museum and cultural center which has special exhibits and lectures given by historians.
Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]
Image 3Sunset view from Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.
Image 6Dammam No. 7, the oil well where commercial volumes of oil were first discovered in Saudi Arabia on March 4, 1938. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
.svg)
.jpg)
.svg){kind=small}
.jpg)
![Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).[1]](/wiki/File:Al_Sawda_peak.jpg)
.jpg)
_on_14_February_1945_(USA-C-545).jpg)
