The Mecca gate was historically the most important gate for Jeddah, Arabia's official pilgrim port. It stands at the start of the road that led to Islam's holiest city. In the last 14 centuries, billions of pilgrims have passed beneath it. The impressive three-arched recreation is flanked by large round turrets. The gate looks as though it would've been impregnable in its day, when it would've been supported by a wall that circumnavigated the entire city.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Jeddah attractions

1. Matbouli House Museum

0.26 MILES

With so many traditional houses closed in Al Balad, this privately owned museum in a beautiful three-storey property with stunning Hejazi mashrabiyya …

2. Souq Al Alawi

0.31 MILES

This souq runs off Al Dahab St and is the most extensive in the Kingdom. The market stalls cut into the heart of the old city and buzz with the activity…

3. Naseef House

0.34 MILES

One of Jeddah’s best-restored old coral houses, Naseef House belonged to one of Jeddah’s most powerful trading families and was later a royal residency…

4. Al Shafee Mosque

0.35 MILES

Beautifully restored and maintained, this historic mosque, one of the finest in Jeddah, is named after one of the four great imams of classical Sunni…

5. Sharbatly House

0.47 MILES

Built in 1930, this historic structure boasts some lovely Hejazi mashrabiyya (wooden lattice balconies). It's the former home of the wealthy Sharbatly…

6. North City Gate

0.49 MILES

This recreated historic gate marks the northern entrance to Al Balad, and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful historic houses, including the…

7. Hanafi Mosque Minaret

0.56 MILES

This beautiful snow-white minaret is all that remains of the historic mosque named after one of the four great imams of Sunni theology, Abu Hanifah. It's…

8. Beit Al Balad

0.68 MILES

Built in the early 20th century as the British legation’s headquarters in Jeddah and serving in that role from about 1915 to the mid-1930s, Beit Al Balad…

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