This is the holy city of Mecca, central religious site to the religion of Islam. It's not exactly a tourist site available to all as entry into this city is highly restricted and maintained. Only a limited number of foreign passports are allowed in. Yet hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims make the journey to Mecca every year to take part in the Hajj, the world's single largest pilgrimage.
Tourism has greatly been affected by the recent terrorist attacks since 9/11 but certain places in the Middle East have actually seen a boom in tourism, mostly in the areas that cater to Muslim tourists, like Mecca. Countries like Egypt, which have recently underwent some bouts of civil unrest, used to be very popular for tourists but people feel less safe and it's tourist numbers have dropped. In a world of globalization one event can effect the whole world and tourism can greatly suffer.
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