Medina
Medina is the first capital in the history of Islam and the second holiest place for Muslims after Mecca.
It is the first mosque built by the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and it includes his honorable tomb.
Location
- Madinah is an Arabic city located in western Saudi Arabia, about 400 km northeast of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and 150 km east of the Red Sea.
And the nearest port to it is the port of Yanbu, which is located on the southwestern and southern side of it, 220 km away from it.
- Its area is approximately 589 km2, 99 square kilometers of this area are covered by urban dwellings, and the rest are cliffs, valleys, mountains, desert, and agricultural lands, and cemeteries.
Medina Population
- The city has a population of about 1.3 million people, and they belong to different tribes and ethnicities. Some lived in the city for a long time, and some came from Arab and Islamic countries to work there.
- In addition to the permanent residents of the city, large numbers of visitors come to it during the Hajj and Umrah seasons, especially in the month of Ramadan and the Hajj season, and their average number is about one million people. They reside there for a few days and weeks, then return to their countries.
Landmarks in Medina
Prophet’s Mosque
- Prophet’s Mosque is the second holiest place of worship for Muslims after the Grand Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and it is one of three mosques that travelers turn to in Islam: the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
- It occupies a site in the center of Medina, and is rectangular in shape, consisting of ten minarets, and embraces religious sanctity landmarks, including the pulpit of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, the green dome, and the Rawda.
The Quba Mosque
- which is the first mosque built in Islam, is located south of Medina, and is about five km from the Prophet’s Mosque.
Qiblatain Mosque
- The Qiblatain Mosque occupies the southwestern side of the Well of Rumah, and the mosque sits on a high plateau, and its area extends to 3,920 m2.
- It was called the Qiblatain Mosque. Given that the Companions, may God be pleased with them, performed one to two prayers in it, as at that time the Muslims’ qiblah was in Bayt al-Maqdis, and the Grand Mosque became the Muslim qiblah in the second year of migration based on a Qur’anic verse commanding that.
Mount Uhud
- Mount Uhud is five kilometers from the Prophet’s Mosque to the north, extends from the east and ends in the west, and takes the color red, dark green, and black, and is seven miles long, with a width ranging between 2-3 miles.
Uhud martyrs cemetery
- It is located near the summit of Mount Uhud to the northern side of the Prophet’s Mosque, and a distance of up to five kilometers separates them.
- It was named by this name because it includes the remains of seventy companions who were martyred in the Battle of Uhud, including Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, the uncle of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace
Al-Baqi Cemetery
- Al-Baqi cemetery is the main cemetery since the Prophet’s era, and it is one of the closest historical places to the Prophet’s Mosque.
- The area of Al-Baqi cemetery extends to eighteen thousand square meters, and contains the remains of the people of Medina, including the remains of the Companions, may God be pleased with them.
Read more about famous Arab Cities – The list of Arab Countries – List of Arab capitals