Mecca
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Mecca. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a city of Arabia. It is the holy city of the Mohammedans. Their great prophet, Mohammed, was born here in 570. Mecca is situated in a blistering hot, sandy valley, about seventy miles from the Red Sea. The Kaaba, or Caaba, the most sacred shrine of the Islam religion, is here. It is a cube-shaped, flat-roofed building, in the center of an immense mosque. The mosque is a vast colonnaded square having nineteen entrances. The Kaaba contains a sacred black stone said to have been originally a ruby from heaven. It is of an irregular oval shape, about seven inches in diameter, composed of smaller stones set together. It is now blackened by the tears shed for sin by pilgrims. The Kaaba is opened two or three times a year. Only the faithful are permitted to enter. In fact, the few Europeans who penetrate the city at all do so in Arab disguise and at the risk of death. The city and the religious ceremonies are in charge of the direct descendants of Mohammed. They are called the sherifs of Mecca. They all wear a costume, noted chiefly for a green robe. They form a sort of aristocracy, and elect one of their number as sherif of Mecca, subject to the confirmation of the Turkish sultan. The city is composed of flat-topped stone houses from one to three stories in height. The streets are unpaved but are wide. The ordinary population of the city is about 60,000. The citizens depend entirely on an annual pilgrimage and fair for business. At this season an immense number of rooms are for rent at high prices. Mohammed enjoined upon his followers the religious duty of visiting Mecca at least once. Humble peasants hoard their scanty earnings for a lifetime that their eyes may behold "the mother of cities," and that they may be present at the great annual festival, when a single prayer counts for more than a thousand offered elsewhere. During the months of summer Mecca becomes the resort of Mohammedans from all parts of the world. They combine business with pleasure, bringing with their alms merchandise for sale and exchange. One stream of pilgrims comes by ship from Polynesia and Java, and from Farther India and Hindustan. They leave their ships at Jiddah on the Red Sea and proceed by caravan to Mecca. They bring spices, pearls, bales of silks, rich cashmere goods, and rugs. Another stream of pilgrims comes from northern Africa, from Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, and Turkey. They collect and set forth from Cairo. The caravans from Central Asia and Asia Minor increase in size as they come, converging upon the Holy City a perfect horde of men and camels. It is estimated that not less than 100,000 pilgrims gather at the annual fair and fete. When the trading and religious services are over they disperse as they came, leaving the city comparatively empty and solitary until the coming of the next fair season. On returning home the pious Mohammedan hangs an aloe plant over his door to signify that he has performed the pilgrimage. See Caravan ; Arabia ; Mohammed ; Medina
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Arabia, in the province of El-Hedjaz, 51 miles E. of Djedda, on the Red Sea, and 270 miles S. E. of Medina. Mecca, meaning literally "the place of assembly," is situated in a long, narrow, sandy valley, running N. and S., called in the Koran "the valley without seeds." It is 2 miles long, and about 1,500 feet wide. The houses, which are handsome, follow the windings of the valley, being built partly on the declivities on both sides. The streets are wide and regular. The only public building of consequence is the Beitullah, or El- Haram, the famous mosque of Mecca, in the interior of which is the Caaba, or Holy House. The mosque is about 350 feet long and 300 feet in breadth, and is formed by colonnades, roofed with numerous small cupolas supported by 450 pillars, about 20 feet in height, of marble or Mecca stone. The walls, arches, and minarets are gaudily painted in stripes of red, yellow, and blue. The structure Caaba is an oblong massive , about 45 feet in length and 35 feet in breadth, and from 35 to 40 feet in height, its doors being coated with silver, embellished with gol gold ornaments. At the N. E. corner is the celebrated "black stone," said to have been brought by the angel Gabriel to form the foundation. The Holy Well of Zem-zem, said to have been Hagar when her son Ishmael found by was dying with thirst, supplies the city with water for drinking and ablution, its use for other purposes being forbidden. There are no manufactures of any consequence, but there is a large trade during month of Dhabhadja (the latter end of June and the beginning of July), owing to the pilgrims from the different for sale, as countries exposing articles well for gain as to defray the expenses incurred by the journey. The climate is sultry and unwholesome. Mecca is celebrated as the birthplace of Mohammed, in 570, who was expelled in 622, and captured it in 630. In 692 it was captured by Abd-el-melik, and in 929 it was plundered by the Carmathians. In 1184, Renaud de Chatillon failed in an attempt on Mecca. In 1803 it was seized by the Moslem sect of the Wahabees, from whom it was taken in 1818 by Ibrahim Pasha. Pop. about 60,000.