Mecca The Holy City Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet, is 45 miles east of the seaport of Jedda, by road, and about 200 miles south of Medina, and has a fixed population of 100,000 (at the time of the annual pilgrimages to Mecca this number is doubled). The city contains the great mosque that surrounds the 'Kaaba', or sacred shrine of the Mohammedan religion. February 03, 1955. (Photo by Camera Press)