Madinah

Medina is the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca, and is visited by millions of pilgrims for Hajj or Umrah. This is the city where Prophet Muhammad lived and taught after he migrated from Mecca in 622 AD. Unlike Mecca, Medina is open to non-muslim visitors. However, they are prohibited from visiting the Prophet's Mosque.

Medina is centred around Al Masjid an Nabawi, or the Prophet's Mosque, which is the final resting place of Prophet Muhammad. The breathtaking 10-minaret mosque is open 24 hours, and the prayers offered here are believed to be never rejected. Non-muslim visitors are not allowed to go near the area surrounding the mosque. Two other important sites in Medina are Quba Mosque and Mount Uhud. Quba Mosque is the site where the foundation stone of the world's first mosque was laid by the Prophet, while Mount Uhud is the place where the battle for Makkah (mecca) took place.

For non-muslim visitors, Medina has some fascinating museums, numerous historic mosques and some shopping malls, along with a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the major sites in the city.