Mecca and the mall

Mecca is the holiest city in Islam, home to the Masjid al-Haram (the Great Mosque), which surrounds the Kaaba, a black cuboid stone considered the axis mundi (the center of the world in religious cosmology). The mosque is the largest in the world and the focal point of Muslim worship. Pilgrims (hajj or umrah participants) face the Kaaba during their five daily prayers, regardless of their location. The Kaaba’s significance stems from Islamic belief that it was the first building dedicated to God, rebuilt by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael. The mosque complex also includes sites tied to key figures like Abraham and the Prophet Muhammad, such as the Maqam-e-Ibrahim (a stone bearing Abraham’s footprints) and the hills of Safa and Marwa, where Hagar searched for water.

Pilgrims enter a state of spiritual purity called ihram, derived from the Arabic word haraam (forbidden), which involves additional prohibitions like avoiding sexual relations, cutting hair or nails, or wearing perfume. Men wear two unstitched white cloths, while women wear simple, unadorned garments. The ihram aims to strip social identities, creating a temporary state of equality among pilgrims known as communitas. The umrah (a shorter pilgrimage) includes circumambulating the Kaaba seven times, praying near the Maqam-e-Ibrahim, and walking between Safa and Marwa seven times (3.15 km). Completing these rituals allows pilgrims to exit ihram by trimming their hair. The Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage, follows similar rituals but is only performed during the Islamic month of Dhul-Hijjah.

Mecca has undergone massive expansion and renovation, with the Saudi government spending $26.6 billion to increase the mosque’s capacity from 414,000 to 1.564 million square meters. This includes adding four marble walkways, escalators, ramps, and golf carts (costing 300 Saudi riyals or $80) for pilgrims. Historically significant structures, except the Kaaba, have been modified or destroyed, including the path between Safa and Marwa, which is now a multistory, air-conditioned enclosure. The Zamzam well, once a dedicated structure, is now accessed via taps. These changes prioritize efficiency but have altered the mosque’s historical and spiritual atmosphere, creating a disjuncture between modern infrastructure and the sacred space imagined by pilgrims.

The transformation of Mecca is tied to Wahhabism, an 18th-century revivalist movement advocating a strict, literalist interpretation of the Quran. Wahhabism discourages veneration of historical sites to prevent idolatry, leading to the demolition of structures like the house of Abu Bakr (Islam’s first Caliph), the birthplace of Muhammad, and an 18th-century citadel. In their place, modern projects like the Makkah Clock Tower complex (a mall-hotel hybrid with a Big Ben-like clock) have been built. This reflects the intersection of religious ideology and economic development driven by the petrodollar economy, where traditional sites are replaced by consumerist spaces under the guise of preserving monotheism.

Historical accounts of Mecca, such as Lady Evelyn Cobbold’s 1934 travelogue, describe a city without walls, protected by mountains, where Bedouin caravans and modest homestays accommodated pilgrims. Cobbold expressed hope that the automobile would not replace the camel, fearing the loss of Mecca’s spiritual and cultural essence. Today, Mecca’s traditional neighborhoods have been replaced by hotels and shopping complexes, pushing locals to the outskirts. The influx of pilgrims, which numbered 1.68 million in February 2026 during Ramadan, has necessitated modern infrastructure, but the result is a city where ritual and capitalism compete for space, altering the pilgrimage experience.