Mecca much Islamic debate". The first press was brought to Mecca in 1885 by Osman Nuri Pasha, an Ottoman Wāli. During the Hashemite period, it was used to print the city's official gazette, "al-Qibla". The Saudi regime expanded this press into a larger operation, introducing the new Saudi official gazette "Umm al-Qurā". Henceforth presses and printing techniques were introduced in the city from around the Middle East, mostly via Jeddah. Mecca owns its hometown paper, "Al Nadwa". However, other Saudi and international newspapers are also provided in Mecca such as the "Saudi Gazette", "Al Madinah", "Okaz" and "Al-Bilad". The first three
Mecca century was Ibn Battuta. In his travels, he provides us with an important description of the city. Around the year 729, Ibn Battuta arrived in Mecca. Immediately when Battuta arrived in Mecca it felt like a holy sanctuary and thus he started the rites of the pilgrimage. He remained in Mecca for a couple of years. During Battuta's second year there, his caravan arrived "with a great quantity of alms for the support of those who were staying in Mecca and Medina" (p. 51). Giving these alms to the poor also helped to fulfill another pillar of faith, while he