We debunk Mecca on the Sea Trade Route as well!

Dr Patrica Crone pretty much debunked any possibility of a land trade route through Mecca.

We now look at whether there was any Sea trade route, via the Red Sea through Mecca as well. Otherwise, how did Mecca become rich and famous, and where did the Standard Islamic Narrative get all its information that Mecca was the center of trade from the time of Alexander the Great (328 BC), right up until the time of Muhammad?

Is this historical?

According to the historical account, Alexander the Great, in the 4th century BC tried to get to Egypt by sea by going around the Arab Peninsula, hoping that he could attack Egypt by surprise by coming by sea.

The 1st expedition only got as far as Bahrain, the 2nd to the Gulf of Oman, while the 3rd expedition made it around Arabia, and up the Red Sea, all the way to Egypt, but it had to turn around and come back, as there was no ports to get supplies.

No place for Supplies, on the Arabian coast? Why?

Here’s why…

To understand the problem, we must look at a Topographical map, where you will see the Water ways in the Red Sea (Chiara Zazzaro - 2013).

In the center of the Red Sea is a deep-water channel, which accommodates large modern ships today. But there were no large container ships in the 7th century. They used small boats which employed sails in order to be pushed by the wind.

When one looks to the West of the deep central channel one can see that there are two shallower water channels where these smaller boats went, in order to stay close to the Western shore where they could get provisions.

And why did they have to stay close to just the Western shore?

Unlike the Eastern Arabian shore which was arid, with no fresh water, and thus few people or towns, the Western African shore had plenty of fresh water, with larger populations, and plenty of provisions.

What’s more, the West coast had easily accessible ports, in fact 5 of them!

We know their names, because much was written about these ports in the historical books.

The 5 coastal cities along the Red Sea’s Western coast included:

•Assab, in Eritrea (dated to 246 BC)

•Adulis, in Eritrea (dated to 79 AD)

•Suaken, in the Sudan (dated to 170 AD)

•Berenice, in Egypt (dated to 275 BC)

•Safaga, in Egypt (dated to 282 BC)

Notice that their dates all predate Islam.

What's more, all 5 of these ports are a day’s distance by boat from each other.

Meanwhile, on the Red Sea’s Eastern Arabian coast, only Yanbu is known, created as Yathrib’s port city.

So, what about Jeddah, as the port city for Mecca?

According to Dr G. R. Hawting, we have no history for Jeddah until the 8th century. It seems that Jeddah was created as the new port city for around the 8th century AD.

Why? Because neither Jeddah nor Mecca had natural water, nor a population large enough to accommodate early trade, so that is why there is no reference to either of these two cities before the 8th century.

The problem for Muslims, however, is that without Mecca, what then happens to 7th c. Islam?

This, yet again, suggests pretty clearly that the Standard Islamic Narrative is wrong about Mecca, as history is proving that not only did the land trade route not go through it, the Red Sea trade route didn't either.

Without Mecca, there is no Muhammad, nor a Qur'an from there, and without them, there really is NO ISLAM!

© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2022
(62,280) Music: "Justice and Fame" by Rafael Krux, from filmmusic-io