The city is located at 277 meters above sea level, lying in a valley region within a mountainous corridor on the Western slopes of the Sarawat Mountains.
In 2,000 B.C. when Ishmael, the infant son of the prophet Abraham and Abraham's wife Hager were stranded in the desert. With Ishmael close to death from thirst, Hager ran back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah for seven times looking for water until the angel Gabriel touched down to earth and created a spring of fresh water for the baby, known as the Well of Zam-Zam.
According to Muslim tradition, the city of Mecca was established by the Jurhumite tribe at the time of the Prophet Abraham.
Around the early 6th century AD, the Arab tribe of Quraysh began their rule over a small area in the Hejaz of Arabia at about 70 km inland from the Red Sea and they became skilled merchants and traders. Over time they adapted from their centuries-old nomadic life and settled in a torrid valley there by a well that went by the name of Zamzam.
At the end of the 6th century the Quraysh formed the ruling class of Mecca. Other tribes had also poured into Mecca from different parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The birth of Prophet Muhammad in AD 570 would forever transform Mecca from a trading post with a notable temple to the birthplace and center of Islam.
In the 20th and 21st centuries the city underwent vast improvements. The area around the religious shrines was cleared, the mosque enlarged, housing and sanitation improved, and transportation facilities enhanced.
History of Mecca in Saudi Arabia
