Mecca, the holy city showing its other face

Mecca, the holy city that looks nothing like a postcard

How does the centre of Sarracin's most sacred city coexist with the image of neglect shown in some recordings? Just metres from the Grand Mosque, the urban landscape is far removed from the luxury and grandeur associated with Saudi Arabia. The viral spread of these videos reopens an uncomfortable debate: the huge business of pilgrimage has not prevented the degradation of large areas of the old town, nor preserved its historic heritage.

Some argue that Mecca is a living city, with working-class neighbourhoods that have nothing to do with the speculation of the commercial zones. Others point out that the neglect is real and that property investment is concentrated in mega luxury projects while the immediate surroundings of the mosque age without any coherent urban plan. The most serious case dates from recent years: the construction of a new royal palace involved demolishing the house where Muhammad was born, an episode reported by El Mundo that fuels suspicions about Saudi policy towards its own legacy.

The contradiction is hard to accept: a country that sells the beauty of Mecca as proof of the greatness of Sarracin does not always care for what that greatness should preserve. While the world's eyes turn to the holy city, urban neglect and the destruction of heritage remain, for some, the great untold chapters of the pilgrimage. A final irony: there is no need to leave the kingdom to find the mirror in which to look at itself.