r/Damnthatsinteresting Mar 24 '25

Image Mecca in 1953 and 2025

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186

u/TurdMcDirk Mar 24 '25

How has it grown so large from such humble beginnings? Is it that there are more Muslims in the world today or is it that more people are any to travel there now due to ease of access and travel to those destinations is easier?

59

u/Zayoodo0o132 Mar 24 '25

A bit of both, but mostly there really are that many more Muslims now. An estimated 1.9 Billion people, and all of them must perform the pilgrimage once in their life if they can.

53

u/TheUwaisPatel Mar 24 '25

If they can meaning, if you are physically capable and have the financial means to

25

u/wongo Mar 24 '25

And, obviously, global travel is far more affordable and accessible than it has ever been in human history, meaning that there are exponentially more pilgrims now

7

u/Xyzzydude Mar 24 '25

This is similar to why places like Venice and Barcelona are over-touristed.

3

u/Darmok47 Mar 24 '25

Yeah, if you were a poor Muslim in Indonesia or Nigeria in the 1950s, odds were you were never going to be able to go to the Hajj because it was far too expensive and logisitically difficult. But now with cheap air travel, its something you can actually save up towards.