If you wanted to travel from the birthplace of Mohammed to the birthplace of Jesus, in which of these directions would you travel? Northeast, northwest, southeast, or southwest?

This geographical puzzle involves a journey from the city of Mecca to the town of Bethlehem. On a map, Mecca, located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, sits significantly further south and to the east. Bethlehem, situated in the Palestinian West Bank near Jerusalem, has a higher latitude (meaning it is more northerly) and a lower longitude (meaning it is more westerly). Combining these two directional components means that the path between these two historic locations follows a distinctly northwesterly trajectory.

The journey connects two of the most significant sites in world religion across a distance of roughly 1,250 kilometers (about 780 miles). Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, is the center of the annual Hajj pilgrimage and the location towards which Muslims globally direct their prayers. Bethlehem is revered by Christians worldwide as the site of the Nativity. A traveler making this trip today would cross the vast Arabian Desert and the modern-day borders of Jordan and Israel, moving from the heart of the Arabian Peninsula toward the Mediterranean coast.