MECCAH, or MEKKA, a city of Arabia, capital of the province of El Hejaz, is situated in a narrow valley stretching N. and S., 70 miles E. of Jiddah, its port on the Red Sea; Lat. 21° 30' N., Long. 40° 8' E. It is very closely confined between bare hills from 200 to 500 feet high, and is built in a strong and substantial manner, the principal materials being brick, granite, and sandstone quarried from the neighbouring hills. The length of the city and suburbs from N. to S. is about 2½ miles; and its broadest part is three-quarters of a mile from E. to W. Near the centre stands the famous mosque containing the Kaabah, to which Mecca owes its sanctity in the eyes of the followers of Mohammed. The densest part of the town is on the slope of the hill to the E., called Abu Kubays. Mecca was formerly walled on three sides, but is now only defended by the hills which inclose it, and by a strong square castle situated on a rising ground called Jiyyad, to the S. The position of the city has been compared by Lieut. Burton to that of Bath, and by others to that of Florence, though vastly inferior to either, and especially to the latter, in beauty. The houses are in general three storeys in height; and, contrary to the usual custom in eastern towns, they have windows in front opening into the street. Most of the houses are fitted up for the accommodation of pilgrims who frequent the holy shrine at Mecca, and consist of a number of separate lodgings, each containing a sitting-room and a kitchen. On the roofs of the houses there are terraces surrounded by parapets, which conceal their occupants from view. The streets are wide, but unpaved, and in rainy weather are extremely muddy. The city is remarkably destitute of public buildings,—a fact which Burckhardt has accounted for by the reverence with which the shrine of their religion is regarded by all true Mohammedans. This building, which is called by the Moslems Bait Ullah (the House of Allah) or Kaabah (the Cube or Square House), stands in the centre of the mosque, a large open court of an irregular oblong form. Although the outer walls of the mosque are not perfectly straight, the unsymmetrical appearance of the exterior is removed by a colonnade of a more regular form which runs round the inside. The size of the mosque is, according to the measurement of Lieutenant Burton, 237 paces by 210, although most of the Moslem authorities make it considerably less. The pillars of the colonnade which are ranged along the east wall in four rows, and on the other three sides for the most part only three deep, are more than 20 feet high and about 1½ in thickness, and are crowned with capitals of Saracen architecture, of which no two can be found exactly alike. The materials of which they are composed are white marble, granite, and sandstone. As little regard has been paid to uniformity in the arrangement of these pillars as in their substance and workmanship; it has therefore been found no easy task for visitors to ascertain their exact number, but there are probably between 550 and 600 in all. Springing from every four columns may be seen a small dome, plastered and whitewashed on the outside; and seven minarets, as well as many towers and pinnacles, are placed among the cloisters and at the corners. The number of the domes is said to be 152; and it is stated that there are in all 1352 towers and pinnacles on the walls. The minarets and several other parts of the walls and arches are painted in bright colours; but there are no representations of flowers, such as are usually to be met with in Mohammedan mosques. The floor of the cloisters is paved with large stones, and eight raised pavements of the same sort extend from the outside to the middle of the area, where stands the Kaabah. They have a sufficient breadth to allow four or five persons to walk abreast, and are raised about 9 inches above the rest of the ground; serving at once as passages to the central shrine and as partitions to separate the spaces allotted to the different classes of worshippers. Near the centre of the inclosure stands the Kaabah, an oblong edifice of fine grey granite, which, according to Burton, is 55 feet in length by 45 in breadth. Its height appeared to that traveller to exceed its length; but Burckhardt states it as between 35 and 40 feet. The ground on which it stands is slightly inclined, and the roof also has a slope, so as to allow the water to run off, but not so much as to prevent the entire building from having the general appearance of a cube, from which it derives its name. It is surrounded by a covering of black silk hanging from the roof, with a golden band running round the top, and a golden curtain in front of the door. The Hajjar el Aswad, or Black Stone, which is the object of so much adoration on the part of pilgrims and devotees, stands at the east corner of the building, at a height of 4 or 5 feet from the ground, and is composed of a number of small stones well cemented together and carefully smoothed, presenting the appearance of having been violently broken in pieces and then mended. The constant wear which the stone has undergone from the lips and hands of the superstitious worshippers has rendered it extremely difficult to tell the nature of the material; but most travellers are agreed that it is of volcanic origin, and Lieutenant Burton expresses his conviction that it is a large aerolite. The door of the Kaabah, by which free admission is granted only ten or twelve times a year, is in the north-west side, about 7 feet from the ground, not far from the Black Stone, and is covered with silver, and adorned with ornaments of gold. There is a flight of steps of carved wood by which entrance is gained to the temple, and which is moved away on rollers and placed at a distance when not used. The interior is plain, and destitute of windows or any other opening besides the entrance, except a small door, called the Bab el Taubah, or Gate of Repentance, leading to a staircase by which the attendants gain access to the roof. The floor and walls consist of a sort of chequer-work of marble of various colours, principally white; and the roof and top part of the walls are covered with red damask embroidered with gold. In the roof there are three cross rafters resting on the north-eastern and south-western sides, and on three pillars in the centre. Between these, at the height of about 9 feet, there is a metal bar from which many lamps are hung; and the only other article of furniture in the apartment is a small press in one corner, in which the key of the building is some- times placed. On the outside, in the south-west wall, there is a stone, distinguished from the rest by its dark red colour, which, as well as the Black Stone, is touched and kissed by the devotees. Not far from the door there is a small hollow, paved with marble, where it is reckoned an act of merit to pray, as being the place where Abraham and Ishmael are said to have kneaded the cement for building the Kaaba. It is called El Moqam, the Place of Mixing or Kneading. On the N.W. side of the Kaaba are said to be situated the graves of Ishmael and Hagar, inclosed by a semicircular wall 5 feet high and 4 thick, covered with white marble. Round the Kaaba is an oval inclosure, well paved with marble, and surrounded by thirty-two iron posts, connected by rods, which support many lamps, said to exceed 1000 in number. Outside of this inclosure there are two broad steps, which rise from the level of the Kaaba to that of the surrounding area. Nearly opposite to the four sides of the central building stand four makams—small buildings, somewhat like Indian pagodas, for the accommodation of the imams of the four orthodox sects in conducting the devotions of their adherents, who take their seats near their respective imams. One of these makams contains a stone which is said to bear the impress of Abraham's foot. The Zem Zem, or Sacred Well, believed to be that of Hagar, is inclosed in a square substantial building opposite the east corner of the Kaaba, and near one of the four makams. The interior of this edifice is adorned with marble of various colours, so as to have a beautiful appearance, and the well itself is surrounded by a circular wall 5 feet high and 10 in diameter. The origin of the name Zem Zem is doubtful; but the water is believed by the Moslems to possess great virtues, although its taste is far from pleasant, and it is apt to cause diarrhoea and boils. Jars of this water are placed in rows throughout the area of the mosque. There are two other buildings in the sacred inclosure, which stand to the north-east of the Zem Zem, and are used, the one to contain the clocks sent hither by the sultan, and the other the MSS. belonging to the mosque. These buildings are called El Kababegu, and are very heavy looking, agreeing ill with the light and elegant structure of the makams. The minbar, or pulpit, stands opposite to the front of the Kaaba, and is an elegant structure of white marble, ascended by a straight and narrow stair from behind, and surmounted by a gilt pinnacle in the form of an obelisk. The mosque is entered by nineteen gates, most of which have two or three arches; and as none have doors, it is open at all times. The outside walls are those of the adjoining houses, which, though originally the property of the mosque, have now fallen into the hands of private individuals, and are let to the richer pilgrims, who are allowed to perform their devotions at home, if within sight of the Kaaba.

Such is the famous mosque of Mecca; a building which is as much an object of reverence to Mohammedans as the Holy Sepulchre to Catholics, and which, like that also, has furnished the model of many other places of worship. Christians are not allowed to enter, and would incur serious danger if discovered within the pale of the sacred edifice; but this has not hindered enterprising travellers from penetrating its mysteries in the disguise of pilgrims. In this manner it has been visited by Burckhardt, Badia, and Burton, all of whom have embodied the result of their observations in pretty full accounts of the celebrities of Mecca. Besides the mosque, Mecca contains the palace of the sherif,—a large whitewashed building with wooden balconies, but in no way very remarkable. It stands in the northern suburb of the town; and not far off there is a deserted house, once the abode of the Sherif bin Aun, but now said to be haunted. The Meccans also show in the town the birthplace of the prophet, the house in which he lived, and many other localities connected with various recorded events of his life. All these places are visited by the pilgrims with great attention and respect. The cemetery of Mecca, called Jamat el Maada, is also much frequented by devotees, as it contains the tombs of Mohammad's mother and of his first wife, as well as those of many other Moslem saints. It is a bare piece of ground at the foot of the western hills, surrounded by a rude wall, and entered through a mean-looking gateway. About 12 miles to the E. of Mecca stands Mount Arafat, which is a place visited by all the pilgrims to Mecca, and on which certain devotions are performed, and a sermon preached to the pilgrims. It rises from a sandy and gravelly plain to the height of 180 or 200 feet; and the plain is covered during the ceremony with the tents of the pilgrims. The numbers present on these occasions are believed by the Arabs to be never less than 600,000, as there is a tradition that when they do not make up this number the angels descend to complete the assemblage. It was calculated, however, by Burton in 1853, that there were only 50,000; and in the following year the number fell to 25,000. Another place visited by pilgrims is Mina, between Arafat and Mecca, where there is a rude piece of masonry in a narrow and rugged defile. The ceremony performed here forms the concluding act of the pilgrimage: it consists of throwing small pebbles and muttering certain words, and is called stoning the devil. The inhabitants of Mecca are little employed in manufactures, but a considerable trade is carried on, especially during the season of pilgrimage. Pop. about 45,000.