Makkah [Moqie, Mo-ch’ieh, Mecca]

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Makkah (formerly known as Mecca) is the holy city of Islam, visited by pilgrims from all over the world. It lies about 55 miles east of the port of Jidda (Jiddah, Judda), 21° 29' N, 39° 11' E.

The region as a whole was called 'Makkah'. it extended some 300 miles north to Medina (24° 35' N) and Yenbo (24° 05' N), and an equal distance south to Djizan (16° 54' N).

Mills says, "The sharif of Mecca, being at this time a vassal of the Egyptian sultan, was not a figure of any political significance, but he maintained a theocratic control over the Hejaz. The country had no economic importance, but the religious pilgrimage was made the occasion for extensive commercial exchanges."

In Chinese it was sometimes transliterated as Moqie. Ma Huan called it "The Country of The Heavenly Square" (Tianfang 天方), a name that refers to the Ka'ba, or 'cube house'.

- adapted from J. V. G. Mills, "The Country of The Heavenly Square", Ma Huan, Ying-yai sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores [1433], Hakluyt Society (Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, 1970), p. 173, n.1.