Mecca (pron.: /ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækkæ]), also transliterated as Makkah, is a city in the Tihamah and the capital of Makkah Province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.