Mecca scholarship governed by the Hashemite Sharifs. In 930, Mecca was attacked and sacked by Qarmatians, a millenarian Ismaili Muslim sect led by Abū-Tāhir Al-Jannābī and centered in eastern Arabia. The Black Death pandemic hit Mecca in 1349. In 1517, the Sharif, Barakat bin Muhammed, acknowledged the supremacy of the Ottoman Caliph but retained a great degree of local autonomy. In 1803 the city was captured by the First Saudi State, which held Mecca until 1813. This was a massive blow to the prestige of the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire, which had exercised sovereignty over the holy city since 1517. The Ottomans
Tourism in the Republic of Macedonia buildings, Ottoman buildings and monuments such as the Jeni Mosque, and old churches. The town is also a shopping destination; Širok Sokak, a pedestrian street, is filled with an endless amount of stores and restaurants which go through to Magnolia Square. There is a small Ski resort about 12km from the city centre situated on Baba Mountain which is also a great hiking mecca during the summer months between May & September. Štip, the largest city east of the Vardar River, is located in the eastern part of the country. Štip has existed for at least 2,000 years which is