an ancient and very famous town of Asia, Mecca, in Arabia Felix; seated on a barren spot, in a valley surrounded with little hills, about a day's journey from the Red sea. It is a place of no strength, having neither walls nor gates; and the buildings are very mean. That which supports it is the resort of a great many thousand pilgrims annually, for the shops are scarcely open all the year besides. The inhabitants are poor, very thin, lean, and warty. The hills about the town are very numerous; and consist of a blackish rock, some of them half a mile in circumference. On the top of one of them is a cave, where they pretend Mahomet usually retired to perform his devotions, and hither they affirm the greatest part of the Alcoran was brought him by the angel Gabriel. The town has plenty of water, and yet little garden-fruit; but there are several sorts of good fruits to be had, such as grapes, melons, water melons, and cucumbers. There are also plenty of sheep brought thither to the fold to the pilgrims. It stands in a very hot climate; and the inhabitants usually sleep on the tops of their houses for the sake of coolness. In order to protect themselves from the heat through the day, they carefully shut the windows, and water the streets to refresh the air. There have been instances of persons suffocated in the middle of the town by the burning wind called Simoom.

As a great number of the people of distinction in the province of Hedsjas stay in the city, it is better built than any other in Arabia. Amongst the beautiful edifices it contains, the most remarkable is the famous Kaba or Caaba, "The house of God," which was held in great veneration by the Arabs even before Mahomet's time.

No Christian dare go to Mecca; not that the approach to it is prohibited by any express law, or that the sensible part of the Mahometans have anything to object to it; but on account of the prejudices of the people, who regarding this ground as sacred, think Christians unworthy of setting their foot on it; it would be profaned, in the opinion of the superstitious, if it was trod upon by infidels. The people even believe, that Christians are prevented from approaching by some supernatural power; and they tell the story of an infidel, who having got so far as the hills that surround Mecca, all the dogs of the city came out, and fell upon him; and who, being struck with this miracle, and the august appearance of the Kaba, immediately became a Mahometan. It is therefore to be presumed that all the Europeans who describe Mecca as eye-witnesses, have been renegades escaped from Turkey. A recent example confirms this supposition. On the promise of being allowed to preserve his religion, a French surgeon was prevailed on to accompany the Emir Hadji to Mecca, in quality of physician; but at the very first station, he was forced to submit to circumcision, and then he was permitted to continue his journey.

Although the Mahometans do not allow Europeans to go to Mecca, they do not refuse to give them descriptions of the Kaba, and information with regard to that building; and there are persons who gain their bread by making designs and little pictures of the Kaba, and selling them to pilgrims. See CAABA.

The Mahometans have so high an opinion of the sanctity... sanctity of Mecca, that they extend it to the places in the neighbourhood. The territory of that city is held sacred to certain distances, which are indicated by particular marks. Every caravan finds in its road a familiar mark, which gives notice to the pilgrims when they are to put on the modest garb in which they must appear in those sacred regions. Every Muslim is obliged to go once in his life, at least, to Mecca, to perform his devotions there. If that law was rigorously enforced, the concourse of pilgrims would be prodigious, and the city would never be able to contain the multitudes from all the countries where the Mahometan religion prevails. We must therefore, suppose, that devotees alone perform this duty, and that the others can easily dispense with it. Those whose circumstances do not permit a long absence, have the liberty of going to Mecca by a substitute.

A hired pilgrim, however, cannot go for more than one person at a time; and he must, to prevent frauds, bring an attestation in proper form, from an Imam of Mecca, that he has performed the requisite devotions on behalf of such a person, either alive or dead; for, after the decease of a person who has not obeyed the law during his life, he is still obliged to perform the journey by proxy.

The caravans, which are not numerous, when we consider the immense multitude of the faithful, are composed of many people who do not make the journey from purposes of devotion. These are merchants, who think they can transport their merchandises with more safety, and dispose of them more easily; and contractors of every kind, who furnish the pilgrims and the soldiers who escort the caravans, with necessaries. Thus it happens, that many people have gone often to Mecca, solely from views of interest. The most considerable of those caravans is that of Syria, commanded by the pasha of Damascus. It joins at some distance the second from Egypt, which is conducted by a bey, who takes the title of Emir Hadsji. One comes from Yemen, and another, less numerous, from the country of Lachia. Some scattered pilgrims arrived by the Red Sea from the Indies, and from the Arabian establishments on the coasts of Africa. The Persians come in that which departs from Bagdad; the place of conductor to this last is bestowed by the pasha, and is very lucrative, for he receives the ransoms of the heretical Persians.

It is of consequence to a pilgrim to arrive early at the holy places. Without having been present from the beginning at all the ceremonies, and without having performed every particular act of devotion, a man cannot acquire the title of Hadsji: this is an honour very much coveted by the Turks, for it confers real advantages, and makes those who attain it be much respected. Its infrequency, however, in the Mahometan dominions, shows how much the observation of the law commanding pilgrimages is neglected. A similar custom prevails among the Oriental Christians, who are also exceedingly emulous of the title of Hadsji, or Mokdafi, which is given to pilgrims of their communion. In order to acquire this title, it is not sufficient that the person has made the journey to Jerusalem; he must also have kept the pallower in that city, and have assisted at all the ceremonies of the holy weeks.

After all the essential ceremonies are over, the pilgrims next morning move to a place where they lay Abraham went to offer up his son Isaac, which is about two or three miles from Mecca: here they pitch their tents, and then throw seven small stones against a little square stone building. This, as they affirm, is performed in defiance of the devil. Every one then purchases a sheep, which is brought for that purpose, eating some of it themselves, and giving the rest to the poor people who attend upon that occasion. Indeed these are miserable objects, and such starved creatures, that they seem ready to devour each other. After all, one would imagine that this was a very sanctified place; and yet a renegade who went in pilgrimage thither, affirms there is as much debauchery practised here as in any part of the Turkish dominions. It is 25 miles from Jodda, the sea port town of Mecca, and 220 south-east of Medina. E. Long. 40° 55'. N. Lat. 21° 45'.

**Mechanical**, an epithet applied to whatever relates to mechanics: Thus we say, mechanical powers, causes, &c. See the articles Power, Cause, &c.

The mechanical philosophy is the same with what is otherwise called corporeal philosophy, which explains the phenomena of nature, and the operations of corporeal things, on the principles of mechanics, viz.; the motion, gravity, arrangement, disposition, greatness or smallness, of the parts which compose natural bodies. See Corporeal.

This manner of reasoning is much used in medicine; and, according to Dr Quincy, is the result of a thorough acquaintance with the structure of animal bodies: for considering an animal body as a composition out of the same matter from which all other bodies are formed, and to have all those properties which concern a physician's regard, only by virtue of its peculiar construction; it naturally leads a person to consider the several parts, according to their figures, contexture, and use, either as wheels, pulleys, wedges, levers, screws, cords, canals, strainers &c. For which purpose, continues he, it is frequently found helpful to design in diagrams, whatsoever of that kind is under consideration, as is customary in geometrical demonstrations.

For the application of this doctrine to the human body, see the article Medicine.