Whilst scooting through ‘Pole to Pole’ I found this…
‘A huge gantry straddled the road,dividing into two main lanes for Moslems and a slip road for non-Moslems,as only Moslems are allowed to view the holy city of Mecca’.
Is this the case?If so,what happens if I miss the slip road or choose not to take it?Do they have roadblocks to ensure that only Moslems go ahead?And what if my driver is Moslem,but I’m not.Do I have to get out and walk it?
There is a police checkpoint, all us foreigners have an official identification that includes our religion. If you have a green residence permit, you can enter. If not, take the right.
Is the green a symbol you’re a Moslem?Or can anyone with a residence permit go along?
What happens if my driver is a Moslem and I’m not?Do I have to walk it or close my eyes?
And I’m unfamiliar with the geography.Does the right road actually go to Mecca by another way or just disappears off in another direction-in which case,if I have to actually get to Mecca itself,how do I arrive there?
It is called the “infidel bypass” and there is a checkpoint to make sure everyone goes the right way. I do know of one Brit that accidentally went through Mecca. The guys at the checkpoint were sleeping and the Brit was lost. :eek:
Regards
Testy
Also supposing for a moment there is an explosion/fire/earthquake in Mecca,what happens?Are all emergency services stopped at the borders and asked their religion? 
A fine point.
I’ve wondered what would happen if a group of terrorists used Mecca as an assembly point for a chemical, radiological or nuclear weapon, & it went off prematurely, due to human or technical error.
Would there be sufficient Islamic engineers/experts/techs to deal with it?
There are fires and stampedes every year or so in Mecca and the death toll is usually pretty bad. Mecca is like any other city in that it has permanent residents, emergency services, hospitals, all of that.
There is also a problem with people goig to Mecca from other countries and upon arrival, destroying all their ID and refusing to leave. It is very difficult to get them out of there because of the religious aspect of things.
Regards
Testy
So if it has permanent residents,hospitals etc,then what about all the business of everyday life?There are businesses there-are only Moslems allowed to visit the businesses there?What about hotels?If I have a Moslem relative who’s shuffling off the coil,am I permitted to visit them?
I’m just curious as to how much of the city is off-limits?If I’m splattered in a car crash just outside Mecca and need emergency aid,will I be taken to Mecca hospital or carted off across the desert somewhere?
Unless you have the right religion you can’t get into the religious bits of the city. Mecca has expanded over the centuries so there are some areas outside the infidel bypass and there are plenty of hospitals, hotels, etc. there that you could stay in. As far as the businesses, there are plenty of customers. Every Moslem is supposed to visit at least once if he can manage it. During Haj and at certain other times, the population of Mecca jumps astronomically. Think of it as being like the Christmas shopping season in the US. 
Having said all that, there is a persistant rumor that the King here used French troops to drive out/kill a bunch of Shiite moslems that had more-or-less occupied the holy sites. I believe that was back in the 70s or 80s and I certainly couldn’t confirm or deny.
Regards
Testy
If the city has expanded beyond the area that is for Moslems only, then do they guard each and every street that connects the common area to the sacred area? Seems to me that they would need either a wall or a lot of guards.
If a person wanted to they could probably sneak into Mecca. The place is a functioning city and is not surrounded by guard towrs or anything like that. Sneaking into Mecca would be a truly stupid thing to do though. Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people in a religious frenzy and having them suddenly discover you weren’t supposed to be there . . .
Life would (briefly) take a turn for the worse.
Regards
Testy
Shurely I could feign being a Moslem for as long as I was in there,then on the way announce Sorry guys I’m not really 
And should a plane happen to crash in the religious bit of Mecca,what do they do with any non-Moslem survivors.Presumably,since they haven’t entered of their own volition,they would be removed quickly but not punished?
Actually I asked the very question of sneaking in, it got kind of ugly.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=138033&highlight=mecca
I’d still love to do it.
You can’t enter…presumably you could fly over it and take some pictures?I don’t know if any flights do fly over Mecca.Is it just being in the city you can’t do or are you not allowed to view it at all?
I have some very nice high-res satellite images of Mecca and Medina. These are the only satellite images I’ve seen (outside the military) where you can actually see people. It looks like a dark cloud around the grand mosque. Viewing it is OK, it is on TV here all the time. You just can’t go there. There are also pictures taken from low-flying aircraft for photogrammetry purposes.
As far as feigning to be a Muslim long enough to visit, you would probably be asked to show some kind of papers from an immam recognized by the Saudis. (That is just a guess, I’ve never really considered sneaking in.) The experience of being in Mecca would absolutely not be worth the problems if you were caught.
Regards
Testy
At least one of the well-known poster-selling websites has a couple of nice posters of Mecca for sale, if you’re interested in seeing what it looks like.
I’m still pondering the plane-crash scenario…
Presumably,survivors would be whisked up and removed out of Mecca ASAP…
Mecca appears to be situated in the middle of a desert…does it serve any commercial functions? Are there factories there?
-In between the Haaj seasons, what goes in the city? Is it known for jazz or art festivals?
-In the days before SA was an oil producer, I understand that most of the Saud familie’s revenues came from a $5.00 per head entry tax on the pilgrims…is this still in effect?
-Why is the Haaj done at a specific time? Can you go there in the “off season” and get the same benefits?
Really? Sounds pretty primitive. I’m not aware of any other religions that would deny access to non-believers. Isn’t religion supposed to be inclusive rather than exclusive?
You talk about the plane-crash scenario and I keep expecting you to ask: “Where are the survivors buried?” 
If such a thing happened, I suspect they would remove everyone who could be moved and treat the survivors in a local hospital until they could get them out as well. The Arabs have a saying: “Necessity makes the forbidden allowable.”
Regards
Testy