Medina

Medina occupies a unique place in the human story: a settlement that predates Islam by well over a millennium yet irrevocably transformed the world in the seventh century of the Common Era. Today, its name—al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “The Illuminated City”—evokes both the luminous aura of faith and the layers of human endeavour that have shaped its stones, gardens and deserts. Across nearly 600 square kilometres of the Hejaz plateau, the city’s population of some 1.4 million blends long-standing Saudi families with migrants and pilgrims drawn by its religious, cultural and economic magnetism.

From its earliest incarnation as Yathrib, Medina’s identity was forged at the intersection of commerce, agriculture and tribal alliance. The fertile wadis of Aql, Aqiq and Himdh collected scarce rains to sustain palm groves and grains in an otherwise arid environment of basalt soils and volcanic ash. Surrounding ridges—Sal‘aa to the northwest, Jabal al-ʻIr to the south and the soaring heights of Mount Uhud—framed a plateau that invited settlement long before Muhammad’s migration from Mecca in 622 CE. During those pre-Islamic centuries, the land was stewarded by Jewish-Arab tribes, punctuated by clusters of basalt stone towers that hinted at the strategic value of this crossroads.

With the arrival of Muhammad and his followers—the Muhājirūn from Mecca and the Ansār native to Yathrib—the city entered a new era. Renamed Madīnat an-Nabī (“City of the Prophet”) and later al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, it became the cradle of Muslim communal life and governance. The Prophet’s Mosque rose on the edge of the early settlement beside Muhammad’s own dwelling, a simple courtyard framed by date-palm trunks and covered by fabric. Here the nascent Muslim ummah gathered, worshipped and adjudicated, while the surrounding date-orchards provided both sustenance and revenue. As revelations recorded in the Quran shifted focus from Meccan chapters to longer, community-oriented Medinan suras, the young faith deepened its legal, ethical and social foundations.

Today, Medina’s skyline is dominated by the expanded al-Masjid an-Nabawi. Its shining green dome crowns the rawḍah, the Prophet’s burial chamber, alongside those of Abu Bakr and Umar. Beneath a canopy of 250 folding umbrellas, worshippers pause at the pulpit—or minbar—where Muhammad once spoke. The mosque’s successive expansions, including Ottoman columns and modern facilities, mirror Islam’s unfolding history. A few kilometres away, the Quba Mosque—erected on Muhammad’s first stop outside Yathrib—stands as the earliest Islamic house of worship. Tradition credits two rak‘ahs offered here on Saturday with the merit of an entire ʻumrah pilgrimage, cementing its place in devotional practice. Masjid al-Qiblatayn, where the prayer direction shifted from Jerusalem to Mecca, further embeds the city’s unfolding spiritual narrative in stone and mortar.

Yet Medina’s heritage extends beyond its mosques. Al-Baqī‘ cemetery rests on the city’s southern edge, containing the graves of early Companions and revered figures whose lives helped define Muslim piety. Mount Uhud, the site of the eponymous battle in 625 CE, still bears reminders of the courage and sacrifice that shaped the community’s resolve. Even the volcanic hills to the south, once silent monuments of geologic time, offer pilgrims and residents shade and perspective.

Through the centuries, Medina passed among successive powers: from the Rashidun caliphs to Umayyads and Abbasids; later under Mamluk and Ottoman governors; briefly as part of the first Saudi and Egyptian-Ottoman spheres; and finally, in 1925, incorporated into the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each era left its imprint—whether the Hejaz Railway built by the Ottomans between 1904 and 1908, whose Medina terminus endures today as a quiet museum, or the highways and urban districts carved under Saudi governance. The 12 administrative districts now encompass both densely settled urban quarters and olive groves, dormant volcanic cones and dry ravines.

Medina’s climate underscores its desert-oasis character. At 620 metres above sea level—nearly twice the elevation of Mecca—it endures scorching summers that routinely exceed 45 °C, while winter nights dip to 8 °C. Rainfall is scarce and falls chiefly from November through May, nourishing the palms and date varieties that have long underpinned the local agrarian economy. In 1920, farmers cultivated 139 date cultivars alongside vegetables adapted to those floodplain soils. Though the city has grown beyond its orchards, agricultural land on its fringes and the surrounding volcanic fields remain a reminder of its ecological heritage.

Medina’s socioeconomic landscape today revolves around religious tourism, cultural initiatives and nascent industry. As the second-holiest city in Islam—after Mecca and before Jerusalem—it attracts millions annually, whether pilgrims completing Hajj or visitors drawn year-round to its mosques and historical sites. To support them, the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Holy Quran stands as the world’s largest Quran publisher, distributing hundreds of thousands of volumes in dozens of languages. Nearby, the Al Madinah Museum and Dar Al Madinah Museum chronicle the city’s archaeological, architectural and spiritual legacy, while the Hejaz Railway Museum preserves whispers of Ottoman steam engines.

Alongside these institutions, the Madinah Arts Center and forums on Arabic calligraphy and live sculpture reflect a growing commitment to the visual and performing arts. The latter convenes artists from across the region to explore sculpture’s ancient roots and inspire a new generation, while the Arabic calligraphy center—now the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Center—signals an ambition to elevate script into an international discipline.

Economic diversification has led to two industrial zones, housing over 230 factories producing everything from petroleum derivatives to foodstuffs. The Knowledge Economic City, launched in 2010, promises further growth in technology and real-estate development. Connectivity has likewise improved: Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, recognized for its LEED Gold certification and global engineering awards, handled more than eight million passengers in 2018, while the Haramain High-Speed Railway links Medina with Mecca, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City at 300 km/h speeds.

Within the city, public transport has expanded from a single bus operator in 2012 to dozens of routes—including dedicated sightseeing lines—that ferry worshippers and visitors to key sites. Plans for bus rapid transit and even a three-line metro network reflect the Medina Municipality’s vision for a modern urban fabric that honors its past while accommodating present demands.

Medina’s demographic tapestry is equally layered. Saudi citizens constitute nearly 59 percent of inhabitants, while foreign residents—often linked to religious tourism, government services or industrial employment—make up the remainder. Sunni Muslims of various jurisprudential schools predominate, yet the city also contains vibrant communities of Shia, expatriate Christians, Hindus and others, who live beyond the haram boundary and contribute to its multicultural atmosphere.

Finally, the experience of visiting Medina today is both familiar and new. Non-Muslims may now approach the outer perimeter of the Prophet’s Mosque—a change introduced in 2021—though entry remains reserved for believers. Within and beyond the holy precincts, visitors must observe modest dress codes, mindful that even a casual misstep can draw unwelcome attention in this deeply respectful context. Those on Hajj visas navigate government-regulated pathways, while those on ordinary tourist visas find themselves welcomed to a city whose layers of history reward both devotion and curiosity.

Medina’s essence lies in the interplay of its ancient stones and modern ambitions, its desert foundations and cultivated palms, its sanctified mosques and bustling markets. Here, the echoes of seventh-century revelations resonate amid the hum of high-speed trains and the whispers of date palms. Across its valleys and hills, one senses a continuity of purpose: a place where faith gave rise to community, where community demanded structures of justice and charity, and where those structures continue to evolve in stone, steel and spirit. In the rhythms of prayer, the shade of umbrella canopies and the calligraphy workshops that enliven its plazas, Medina stands as both an enduring sanctuary and a living city—shaped by the past, engaged with the present, and guided by principles that have illuminated its streets for nearly fourteen centuries.