Mecca kilometer elevated metro transports pilgrims to holy sites Mount Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina in the city during hajj reducing the congestion on the roads. Mecca Metro, officially known as Makkah Mass Rail Transit, is a planned four-line metro system for the city. This will be in addition to the Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro which carries pilgrims during Hajj. A high speed inter-city rail line (Haramain High Speed Rail Project also known as the "Western Railway"), is under construction in Saudi Arabia. It will link along 444 kilometres (276 mi), the Muslim holy cities of Medina and Mecca via King
Siege of Mecca (683) Siege of Mecca (683) The Siege of Mecca in September–November 683 was one of the early battles of the Second Islamic Civil War. The city of Mecca served as a sanctuary for Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr, who was among the most prominent challengers to the dynastic succession to the Caliphate by the Umayyad Yazid I. After nearby Medina, the other holy city of Islam, also rebelled against Yazid, the Umayyad ruler sent an army to subdue Arabia. The Umayyad army defeated the Medinans and took the city, but Mecca held out in a month-long siege, during which the Kaaba was damaged