Mecca both residents and pilgrims. Mecca's culture has been affected by the large number of pilgrims that arrive annually, and thus boasts a rich cultural heritage. As a result of the vast numbers of pilgrims coming to the city each year, Mecca has become by far the most diverse city in the Muslim world. In contrast to the rest of Saudi Arabia, and particularly Najd, Mecca has, according to "The New York Times", become "a striking oasis" of free thought and discussion and, also, of "unlikely liberalism" as "Meccans see themselves as a bulwark against the creeping extremism that has overtaken
Black mecca Black mecca A black mecca, in the United States, is a city to which African Americans, particularly professionals, are drawn to live, due to some or all of the following factors: Atlanta has been referred to as a black mecca since the 1970s, while New York City's Harlem was referred to as a black mecca during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and still is today. Atlanta has frequently been referred to as a black mecca since the 1970s. In 1971, "Ebony" magazine called Atlanta the "black mecca of the South", because "black folks have more, live better,