Hello - in America people don't tend to spell Mecca as Makkah because they speak English. We here in America do not know Arabic as it is a very difficult language to master (please don't say it isn't) and there is no reason to learn it unless you are going to work for the military or CIA or in foreign relations. We here in America know where Mecca is. Also: there is no reason why people NEED to know where Mecca is. Saying people need to know where Mecca is is like saying people need know exactly in what place Jesus was born. It's basically ego masturbation to think it's relevant information.^First and foremost because he wondered what this thing might be. A4m is "anything goes", so it's certainly a valid thread.
Second, so the rest of us can laugh at the people who don't know where/what Makkah is, and then blame "stupid Arabic spelling" when told that this really is something everybody should know.
Also the star in the picture is probably just dirt on your lens.
EDIT: He was born is Bethlehem by the way.