(RNS) — The black, gold-embroidered cloth that shrouds Islam’s holiest site in Saudi Arabia is a revered artifact that ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — 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 ...

Security forces in Mecca are cracking down on people trying to make a pilgrimage without a permit, as the Islamic holy city prepares to host hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshippers. Ahead of the ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - As a child, Osama al-Bar would walk from his home past Islam's holiest site, the Kaaba, to the market of spice and fabric merchants where his father owned a store. At that time, ...

MECCA, Saudi Arabia — More than 2 million Muslims began the annual hajj pilgrimage at first light Sunday in Saudi Arabia, circling the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca that Islam's faithful face five times ...

Anne Kristoff / For the News-Miner Jan 20, 2013 Jan 20, 2013 Updated Oct 22, 2021 FAIRBANKS — Looking at Jodi Blakely, you’d never guess that she was a sharpshooter and an expert hostage negotiator.