Plans for a new airport and metro system aim to improve access for the many pilgrims that visit Mecca annually, and ease travel within the holy city. View on euronews ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia — For Zainab Abdu, the holiest sites in Islam were the backdrop for her weekends growing up. Raised in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, Abdu remembers roller skating with friends near the ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. STORY: Wrapped in white robes, with some carrying umbrellas against the burning desert sun, hundreds performed the first ritual of ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia >> Billboards line the Umm Al Qura highway leading to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, displaying manicured public spaces, glass-fronted stores and sleek towers. It’s part of a $26 ...

Decades ago, this was a low-built city of centuries-old neighborhoods. Over the years, it saw piecemeal renewal projects. But in the mid-2000s, the kingdom launched its most ambitious overhaul ever ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Muslim pilgrims pray on the Mount of Arafat, outside the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslim pilgrims from around the world ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (RNS) — As much as a quarter of the economy around Mecca relies on tourism and pilgrimages. Pandemic restrictions — which cut hajj pilgrims from millions to thousands — mean lost ...