 Medina Travel Guide, Saudi Arabia
Medina, also written in English as Madinah, officially al Madi-nat al Munawwarah, is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia. Medina is the capital of the Al Madinah Province, and is the second holiest city in Islam. It is the burial place of Prophet Muhammad.
According to 2006 estimate, Medina has a population of more than 1,300,000 people. The city was originally known as Yathrib, but its name was was changed to Madi-nat al-Nabi, meaning "city of the prophet") or Al Madi-nah al Munawwarah, meaning "the enlightened city" or "the radiant city". The short form Madi-nah simply means "city".
Masjid Nabawi, Medina
Copyright Ali Imran, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Masjid_Nabawi._Medina%2C_Saudi_Arabia.jpg, and used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Medina is 210 miles (338 km) north of Mecca and about 120 miles (193 km) from the Red Sea coast. It is celebrated for containing the tomb of Prophet Muhammad. Medina forms an oval surrounded by a strong wall that is 30 to 40 feet tall dated to the 12th century.
The Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) is located at the east of Medina and resembles the mosque at Mecca on a smaller scale. Its courtyard is almost 500 ft (152 m) in length, the dome is high with three picturesque minarets . The tomb of the prophet, who died and was buried there in 632 AD, is enclosed with a screen of iron filigree. A prayer here is regarded as good as a thousand elsewhere.
The tombs of Fatimah, Prophet Muhammad's daughter, and Abu Bakr, the first caliph and the father of Prophet Muhammad's wife, Aisha, and of Umar ibn Khattab, the second caliph, are also here.
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