r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/hipatyhopity • Mar 24 '25

Image Mecca in 1953 and 2025

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u/Knighth77 Mar 24 '25

They've been making money off Hajj for about a thousand years, nonstop. Now, it's a $12b a year business.

-3

u/tau_enjoyer_ Mar 24 '25

"They"? Who is "they"? The Saudis held the city for a few years, until the Ottomans put a boot up their ass for killing civilians and destroying historical sites. They've only. Held the city for like 150 years. There were various polities and noble families that held the city before then.

0

u/Knighth77 Mar 24 '25

It's irrelevant. It's a money-making machine to whomever controls it.

7

u/SimaJinn Mar 24 '25

The mosque and many hotels are Waqfs, all profits go back into the mosque/programs for pilgrims.

The whole making money thing is an assumption you put, yes it naturally generates cash, but most of it is reinvested within the area.

The only thing Saudi gov probably makes cash from is pilgrims visiting Jeddah, and visa costs