Mecca is the holiest spot on earth. At least, it is considered by five percent of the earth’s population who are of Islamic faith and face towards the city in prayer five times a day. They believe that Mecca was founded in the 19th century B.C. by the prophet Abraham himself, who built the first house of god there, a cubic stone building called Ka’bah. It laid the foundation of the spiritual value of this otherwise not very inviting piece of land surrounded by dry mountains and suffering from a harsh desert climate.

With the birth of the prophet Muhammad in Mecca around 570 A.D., the religious importance of the city near the Red Sea Coast increased enormously. Around the holy shrine, the holy mosque Al Haram was built. Muhammad declared Mecca the centre of pilgrimage, the Hajj, that every Muslim is supposed to fulfil once in a lifetime since then... [+]