Overview
Madinah Region lies in the western part of the Kingdom. It is the third largest region by area and the fourth by population in the 2022 census, covering about 150,000 km². [1]
History and religious significance
Before Islam the area was known for the town of Yathrib and the tribes that settled there. After the Hijra, Madinah became the starting point of the Islamic call and the capital of the caliphate. [1]
Its standing comes from the Prophet's Mosque, which contains the Prophet's grave, and from Quba Mosque, the first mosque built in Islam. [1]
Related people
- PersonPrince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al SaudPrince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was a Saudi prince and Minister of Interior, appointed on 27 March 2009 as Second Deputy Prime Minister by royal decree. He chaired the National Committee for Narcotics Control and the Supreme Council of Media, and supported academic chairs, prizes and charitable work.
- PersonPrince Muqrin bin AbdulazizHis Royal Highness Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is a Saudi prince who was chosen as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister on 23 January 2015; he headed the General Intelligence Presidency and served as Advisor and Special Envoy to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Crown Prince, and he rendered service to Madinah alongside educational and charitable works.
- PersonImam Muhammad bin Abdul WahhabImam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab was a Saudi reformer who lived and taught in Diriyah and called for the oneness of God and a return to what the Prophet, peace be upon him, brought; his call became tied to the Saudi family, and from Diriyah the influence of the First Saudi State spread.
Administration
The region has eight governorates and 96 centres: Yanbu, AlUla, Al-Mahd, Al-Hinakiyah, Badr, Khaybar, Al-Ais and Wadi Al-Fara. Its development authority was established by royal order in 1431 AH/2009 CE. [1]
Antiquities and sites
AlUla contains Mada'in Salih (Hegra), the first Saudi site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the region preserves ancient remains and inscriptions. [1]
In Madinah, visitors go to historic mosques such as Quba and Al-Qiblatayn and to sites such as Mount Uhud, the martyrs' cemetery beside it and the site of the Battle of the Trench. [1]
Economy and services
The Mahd adh-Dhahab gold mine shows signs of working some three thousand years ago; modern production began in 1988. The region is served by Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah and Prince Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz Airport in Yanbu, and hosts the Islamic University and Taibah University. [1]
Climate
Religious sites
Tourism and nature
Related topics
- Governorate and oasis geographyGeography of AlUlaAlUla is a governorate in Madinah Region in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where cultivated oases and settlements lie among wadis and desert escarpments.
- Archaeological sitesHistory of HegraHegra, also called Mada'in Salih, is an archaeological site in AlUla Governorate whose tombs, wells and inscriptions illuminate Nabataean life and caravan routes.
- HistoricDarb ZubaydahThe Kufa pilgrimage road linking Iraq to Makkah through five Saudi regions, used since before Islam and named after the spring dug by Zubaydah bint Ja'far.
- HistoricAlUla Old TownAlUla Old Town is a historic settlement in the centre of AlUla Governorate, preserving an earthen urban fabric of hundreds of houses, markets and historic passageways. It was selected among the Best Tourism Villages in the World for 2022.
- HistoricMasjid Al-QiblataynMasjid Al-Qiblatayn is a historic mosque in Madinah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that witnessed the change of the qiblah from Al-Aqsa Mosque to the Sacred Mosque in the second year of the Hijri calendar. The site now hosts the Al-Qiblatayn Civilizational Center Project, which raises its capacity and improves services for its worshippers and visitors.
- HistoricElephant Rock (Jabal AlFil)Elephant Rock (Jabal AlFil) is a massive rock formation in AlUla Governorate, in the Madinah Region. Resembling an elephant in form and rising about 52 metres above ground, it is one of the most prominent geological landmarks and tourist destinations in AlUla [1][2].
- HistoricHarrat RahatHarrat Rahat is a vast volcanic field in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia whose lava flows extend from the north of Makkah to Madinah, and it contains lavas formed over widely separated periods, running from millions of years ago to the last volcanic eruption in 654 AH. Its recent volcanic activity is concentrated in its northern part, along the southern and eastern edges of Madinah.
- HistoricThe Grand Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram)The Grand Mosque (Al-Masjid Al-Haram) is the mosque at the centre of which stands the Kaaba in Makkah, and successive states and restorations followed upon its construction across the ages. In the Saudi era it witnessed major expansions and construction works, most notably the Third Saudi Expansion and the raising of the capacity of the Mataf and the courtyards.
- EventHejaz RailwayThe Hejaz Railway is a railway line ordered to be built in March 1900, with work beginning in 1900, to link the Muslims of the northern Arabian Peninsula with the Holy Places; it runs from Damascus station to Madinah station. The first train reached Madinah on 22 Rajab 1326 AH, corresponding to 23 August 1908, and the line operated for about nine years. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today preserves its station, its museum and its antiquities in the Tabuk and Madinah regions.
- EventThe Houthi Attack on MakkahThe Houthi attack on Makkah refers to two hostile attempts against the Holy Capital, intercepted and destroyed by the Royal Saudi Air Defence Forces before they reached Makkah: a ballistic missile on 27 July 2017, and a hostile drone on 15 September 2026. Both attempts ended in failure, and the Kingdom reaffirmed that the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the Guests of the Most Merciful is a red line.
- HistoricKhaybar Lava FieldKhaybar Lava Field is a volcanic field in the Madinah Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the largest harrat in the Kingdom by area, estimated at about 21,500 square kilometers. It contains Jabal Al-Qidr, listed among the world's top 100 geological sites, three rare volcanoes, and lava tubes among the longest in the Arab world.
- HistoricThe Prophet's MosqueThe Prophet's Mosque is the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in Madinah, built in the first year of the Hijrah over an area of 1,050 square meters. Several constructions followed across the Islamic eras, and the mosque saw its widest expansions in the Saudi era.
- HistoricArabic CalligraphyArabic Calligraphy is the art of writing the Arabic letters, and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia it receives care that extends to serving the Qur'anic text and developing its digital tools. Foremost among the manifestations of that is the collection of computerised fonts produced by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, alongside the International Competition for Writing the Holy Qur'an.
- RegionMakkah CityMakkah City is a Saudi city in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, home to the Grand Mosque and the qibla of Muslims, with a history of more than four thousand years. The city and the Holy Sites are seeing continuous development to raise the standard of services provided to pilgrims and Umrah performers under Saudi Vision 2030.
- EventShami Hajj RouteThe Shami Hajj Route is a historic course taken by pilgrims coming from the Levant to Makkah and Madinah, which for long centuries served as a main artery for the passage of caravans and a civilisational route linking the parts of the Islamic world. It runs from Damascus through archaeological forts and stations until Madinah, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to develop it with modern roads and integrated services for pilgrims and Umrah performers.
- EventEgyptian Hajj RouteThe Egyptian Hajj Route is one of the seven most important pilgrimage and trade routes that linked the Islamic world to the Arabian Peninsula, and was taken by pilgrims from Egypt, the Maghreb, Al-Andalus and West Africa from the beginning of the Islamic era. It combines a coastal land path across Sinai with stations as far as Makkah and a sea route through the port of Aydhab.
- RegionYanbu CityYanbu City is a Saudi city on the Red Sea coast west of Madinah, spread across three cities: Yanbu Al-Bahr, Yanbu Al-Nakhl and Yanbu Industrial City.[1] It is known as the "Pearl of the Red Sea" for the historic heritage, industrial and service renaissance and tourism assets it brings together.[15]
- EventKingdom of HejazThe Kingdom of Hejaz is an official name borne by the Saudi State at a stage of its formation after the annexation of the Hejaz, and it is associated with the successive titles of King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Al Saud up to the naming of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1351 AH/1932.
- TopicAlinma BankAlinma Bank is a Saudi bank established under Royal Decree No. (M/15) dated 28 Safar 1427 AH, with a founding capital of SAR 15 billion. It offered 70% of its shares for public subscription on the seventh of April 2008, and its net profits in its first financial year reached SAR 390 million.
- HistoricMount RadwaMount Radwa is a mountain in the northwest of the Kingdom, located in Yanbu governorate. It is recorded in tradition as one of the three mountains that lie at Madinah, alongside Mount Uhud and Mount Warqan, and it hosted the first meeting between King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and King Farouk of Egypt at Radwa Bay in 1364 AH, corresponding to 1945.
- RegionTabuk CityTabuk City is a Saudi city whose presence dates back to more than 500 years before the Common Era. Al-Tawbah Mosque formed the nucleus from which it grew, with its neighbourhoods and markets, and it was there that the Battle of Tabuk, the last of the Prophet's battles, took place in Rajab 9 AH.
- HistoricCave of ThawrCave of Thawr is a landmark of the Prophet's biography at the summit of Mount Thawr in the Makkah Province, 4 kilometers from the Grand Mosque. It is a prominent station of the Prophetic Migration, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companion Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq stayed for three days before heading for Madinah.
- EventBattle of Wadi Al-SafraThe Battle of Wadi Al-Safra was a battle fought in 1226 AH near Madinah, and it is one of the major battles in the history of the First Saudi State. The Saudi forces in it were led by Imam Abdullah bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, after his father Imam Saud bin Abdulaziz called for unifying the ranks and defending the land, and it ended with the defeat of Tusun bin Muhammad Ali Pasha.
- EventHistory of MadinahThe history of Madinah is the history of a city in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known before the Prophetic Hijrah as Yathrib and later named Madinah; it is the seat of the Prophet's Mosque and the first capital of the Islamic state. Its history extends from before Islam to the Saudi era, through the building of the Prophet's Mosque and the city's historical landmarks.
- EventBattle of BadrThe Battle of Badr is the first decisive battle fought by the Muslims. It took place on the seventeenth of Ramadan in the second year of the Hijrah between Makkah and Madinah, and its day was named the Day of the Criterion. It ended in the defeat of the polytheists, and its site in Badr Governorate preserves its landmarks and its historic route.
- HistoricJabal UhudJabal Uhud is a natural and historic landmark in the Madinah region, north of the Prophet's Mosque, and its area is linked to the Battle of Uhud. It holds the graves of seventy Companions and historic landmarks around it, among them Jabal ar-Rumah, the Sayyid al-Shuhada Mosque and the Al-Fasih Mosque.