Mecca fire of 1997 Mecca fire of 1997 The Mecca fire of 1997 was a fire that occurred in the tent city near Mecca in Saudi Arabia 15 April 1997, killing between 217 and 300 people. The fire erupted in the overcrowded tent city, Mina, where an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims were gathered on for the first day of the Hajj, the ritualistic pilgrimage to Mecca. The fire erupted at 11:45 a.m. (), and was caused by exploding canisters of cooking gas, according to witnesses. The fire was fanned by winds of nearly causing the destruction of an estimated 70,000 tents. Officially, 1,290
Mecca of going to the temple. The people of Mecca were also an important aspect of the village. They were described as being humble and kind, also willing to give a part of everything they had to someone who had nothing. The inhabitants of Mecca and the village itself was very clean. There was also a sense of elegance to the village. Ibn Battuta spent about three years in Mecca before he left with intentions of moving on to Yemen. Mecca nowadays is a lot different than Battuta saw it, but it still is a place of holiness. The city has