al-Hasani
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Warning a bit long but might be interesting nevertheless for some
Ok, this might not have much to do with Makkah and Madinah as such but I am often asked by people that have not visited, Muslim as non-Muslim have the landscape looks not far from Makkah and in the regions of Hijaz that are not located far away from mainly Makkah.
Also how Makkah looks like as a city outside of the Masjid al-Haram and the neighborhoods around the Masjid al-Haram. Many do not know this but Makkah is one of the biggest cities in the ME and it is a very big city meaning that it is scattered across a large geographic area around the mountain hills and valleys. The majority of Makkah is basically located in a valley and many small villages and neighborhoods located many km from the center are part of Makkah.
Makkah is the hottest city in KSA and surrounded by mountains while lying in a valley which gives it a warmer climate than average in Hijaz due to the effects of the mountains and it's also located far enough away from the beautiful Red Sea (80 km) for that not to have an effect climate wise. Mainly due to the sheltering effect of the mountains. Unlike other major cities of Hijaz such as Al-Baha, Ta'if etc. it is not located 2000 meters above sea level or higher which makes it a very hot city unlike those cities and the hundreds of Hijazi villages located in the mountains.
Makkah together with Jeddah are one of the few major cities in KSA that retain their warm weather (basically summer weather) for nearly the entire year.
Many Makkawis venture out to Ta'if, Al-Baha etc. or the many mountain villages during the summer to cool off when Makkah
is a frying pan (LOL). Some also go to Jeddah which is located about 75 km from Makakh and is a coastal city next to the Red Sea which gives it a cooling effect although Jeddah is still hot during summer.
For instance this is how the terrain looks like a few km outside of Makkah:
For more photos below look below in the link:
The Mountains of Makkah | NidalM Photography
This is how it looks a bit further away from Makkah but still Hijaz:
Here is a little clip from Makkah:
Makakh is also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the Muslim world and world overall. You have natives of various Arab origins from various regions and countries on the Arabian Peninsula and obviously Arab countries outside of the Arabian Peninsula such as Egypt, Levant, Iraq , Sudan etc. aside from the people of Central Asian, South Asian, South East Asian, African etc. origins. Or those from the remaining ME.
Many have mixed with each other by now. The local cuisine is influenced by all that and it shows in the food variety.
Makkawi people are in general a very proud people and welcoming and many families have dealt with pilgrims for thousands of years (Makkah was a sight for pilgrimage before Islam as well) and they are accustomed to pilgrims and foreigners.
A curiosity that confirms this is that the current gate keepers of the Kaaba held this position before Islam.
Here is more information for the people who can speak Arabic:
http://makkawi.com
Many other interesting videos below on this Youtube Channel but unfortunately it is only in Arabic.
makkawiTV - YouTube
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