Geography of Medina
Medina or Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia, a city in the Hejaz region, 210 miles (338 km) north of Mecca. It is the most sacred Islamic city after Mecca, and only Muslims may enter it. Medina lies among large date groves at the southern end of the Hejaz Railway, a line for pilgrims. Thousands of Muslims come here annually to visit the Mosque of the Prophet, which contains Mohammed's tomb.
Medina was originally called Yathrib. It was given its present name, which means “the city,” because it received Mohammed when he fled Mecca, in 622 A.D. Mohammed died here in 632, and Medina remained the capital of the Islamic world until 661, when Damascus became the center.
Population: 891,000.