Why Is Mecca Successful

The Arabian city of Mecca at 21.3891° N, 39.8579° E, is regarded as the holiest city of Islam. Mecca is located 50 miles inland off the Red Sea and lies between numerous mountains. Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad and it is the site for the pilgrimage that is required for devout Muslims. This essay will show that the commercial success of Mecca that allowed the city to become a major trading and religious center from the 5th century to 7th century, was strongly due to three factors: its severe weather conditions, geographical features, and religious importance. These three factors will be explored to show how they laid the foundation for Mecca’s commercial success by attracting a large number of businessmen and devout Muslims who wanted

The pilgrimage to visit the kaaba in Mecca is required for every Muslims to accomplish at least once in their lifetime. Hajj is one of the rules in the Five Pillars of Islam that requires Muslims to endure physical pain while they are doing their pilgrimage to visit the sacred city of Islam (“Religion Facts”). With the millions of Muslims who accomplish Hajj each year, the size and economy of the city grew as well. According to an article about research that predicts growth rates between 1995 and 2030, the author Ascoura stated that “The mean annual growth rate of pilgrims is estimated to 5% and keeping the same trend will make the pilgrim numbers to reach 4.3 millions by 2020…. it is predicted that the urban area of the city will reach 41051 hectares in 2020. Furthermore, if the annual growth rate remains at 8,1%, the urban area will reach 74179.8 hectares in 2030” (Ascoura). The data facts and estimations show the size and population of Mecca are rapidly increasing from the year 1995. With more people going to pilgrimage and the urban growth of Mecca each year, more businesses involved with pilgrimage and local people in Mecca will continue to earn money by opening restaurant and hotels. Local people in Mecca can also make money by starting currancy exchange and retail shop businesses (“The Economics of the Saudi Pilgrimage Season”). Another article on the impact of Hajj on Saudi Arabian region’s economy mentions “Expert sources have estimated the revenues of Hajj and Umrah (pilgrimages to Mecca) this year at over 62 billion riyals ($16.5 billion), a 10% increase compared to last year. They noted that the Hajj revenues represent 3% of the Saudi GDP”(The Economics of the Saudi Pilgrimage Season). The analysis of total cost of pilgrimage to Mecca provides a huge amount of money to that region, and