Mecca lies in a narrow valley enclosed by rocky mountains in the Hejaz, on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula. The Quran calls it "Makkah" once (al-Fath 48:24) and "Bakkah" once (Al Imran 3:96), and also refers to it as "the secure city" (at-Tin 95:3) and "Umm al-Qura", the "Mother of Towns" (al-An'am 6:92). Commentators explain Bakkah either as another name for Mecca or as the name of the core area around the Kaaba.
Islamic tradition connects the city's origins with Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael and with the spring of Zamzam. The Prophet Muhammad was born here and spent the first thirteen years of his prophethood in the city. Mecca came under Muslim rule in the eighth year after the Hijra (630 CE).
Today it is the capital of Saudi Arabia's Makkah Province and is visited each year by millions of Muslims performing the Hajj and Umrah.