MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- These days it's easier to find a Cinnabon in Mecca than the house where the Prophet Muhammad was born.

The ancient sites in Islam's holiest city are under attack from both money and extreme religion. Developers are building giant glass and marble towers that loom over the revered Kaaba which millions of Muslims face in their daily prayers. At the same time, religious zealots continue to work, as they have for decades, to destroy landmarks that they say encourage the worship of idols instead of God.

As a result, some complain that the kingdom's Islamic austerity and oil-stoked capitalism are robbing this city of its history.