Snapchat streams Mecca live as thousands share incredible images of holiest city in Islam

Hundreds of thousands tweeted photographs and clips, as the social media giant released it's live story

An aerial shot of Mecca (Reuters)

Worshippers at Mecca have given non-Muslims a unique and intimate insight into one of Islam's holiest nights by sharing images from inside the city.

Muslims were able to collaborate and share personal videos of Mecca using Snapchat's Live Story feature, which collects submitted clips and splices them together before releasing the best footage to all 100 million Snapchat users.

The social media giant’s decision was prompted by an online campaign from hundreds of thousands of Saudi Muslims to live stream the event, the BBC reported over the weekend, under the hashtag ‘Mecca_live’.

It allowed a rare glimpse into Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Mohamed, for non-Muslims who are not allowed to enter one of Islam’s holiest cities.

On Monday, more than a million people tweeted out under the hashtag, celebrating the ‘live’ story which featured worshippers in the city, people in prayer and the joyful atmosphere in the city.

Muslims tweeted their thanks to Snapchat for streaming the event, as non-Muslims celebrated the peaceful and “beautiful” portrayal of the Islamic faith.

Social media was also deluged by Muslims inside Mecca tweeted photographs and short clips. Tens of thousands of tweets about Mecca were posted on Monday night, according to analyst website Topsy.

Millions of Muslims journey to Mecca every year for the culmination of the holy night of Ramadan. The Saudi Arabian city’s population almost trebles during the festivities.