Main sights

Mecca houses the Masjid al-Haram, the largest mosque in the world. The mosque surrounds the Kaaba, which Muslims turn towards while offering daily prayer. This mosque is also commonly known as the Haram or Grand Mosque.
As mentioned above, because of the Wahhabist hostility to reverence being paid to historic and religious buildings, Mecca has lost much of its heritage in recent years and few buildings from the last 1500 years have survived Saudi rule.
Expansion of the city is ongoing and includes the construction of 577 m (1,893 ft) tall Abraj Al Bait Towers across the street from the Grand Mosque. The towers are set to be completed in 2010 when they will be one of the world's tallest buildings. The construction of the towers involved the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, which in turn sparked a dispute between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The Zamzam Well is home to a celebrated water spring.
The Qishla of Mecca was an Ottoman castle facing the Grand Mosque and defending the city from attack. However, the Saudi government removed the structure to give space for hotels and business buildings near to the Grand Mosque. Hira is a cave near Mecca, on the mountain named Jabal Al-Nūr in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. It is notable for being the location where Muslims believe Muhammad received his first revelations from God through the angel Jibreel, also known as Gabriel to Christians.