Mecca of the English transliteration for the Arabic name of the city, although the official transliteration used by the Saudi government is "Makkah", which is closer to the Arabic pronunciation. The word "Mecca" in English has come to be used to refer to any place that draws large numbers of people, and because of this some English speaking Muslims have come to regard the use of this spelling for the city as offensive. The Saudi government adopted "Makkah" as the official spelling in the 1980s, but is not universally known or used worldwide. The full official name is "Makkah al-Mukarramah" ()
The Road to Mecca (play) Helen), Jim Dale (Pastor Marius Byleveld) and Carla Gugino (Elsa), directed by Gordon Edelstein. The 1991 film adaptation of "The Road to Mecca", written by Peter Goldsmid, who also co-directed it with Fugard, starred Fugard as the Rev. Marius Byleveld, Kathy Bates as Elsa Barlow, and Yvonne Bryceland as Miss Helen. The Road to Mecca (play) The Road to Mecca is a play by South African playwright Athol Fugard. It was inspired by the story of Helen Martins, who lived in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa and created The Owl House, which is now a provincial heritage site. Miss Helen,