The Quba Mosque (Quba' Masjid or Masjid al-Quba, Arabic: مسجد قباء), in the outlying environs of Medina in Saudi Arabia, is the oldest mosque in the world. Its first stones were positioned by the Islamic prophet Muhammad as soon as he arrived on his…
Al-Safa and Al-Marwah (Safa and Marwah) (Arabic: الصفا Aṣ-Ṣafā, المروة al-Marwah) are two small mountains now located in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia between which Muslims travel back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimage…
Abha (Arabic: أبها Abhā) is the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated 2,200 meters above sea level in the fertile mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia, near Asir National Park.
Tabuk (Arabic: تبوك Tabūk), also spelled Tabouk, is the capital city of the Tabuk Region in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Maqbaratul Baqī' (Arabic: مقبرة البقيع, The Baqi Cemetery) is a cemetery in Medina, present-day Saudi Arabia, located to the southeast of the Masjid al-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque). The mosque is built where the Islamic prophet Muhammad used to li…
Deera Square (sometimes transliterated Dira Square; Arabic: ساحة الصفاة) is a public space in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in which public executions (usually by beheading) take place.
Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah (Arabic: جبل عرفات transliterated Jabal ‘Arafāt) is a granite hill east of Mecca in the plain of Arafat. It is also known as the Mount of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place wh…
Ha'il (Arabic: حائل Ḥā'il), also spelled Hail, Ha'yel, or Hayil, is a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of the Ha'il Province.
King Abdulaziz University (KAU) (Arabic: جامعة الملك عبد العزيز ǧāmiʿat al-malik ʿabd al-ʿazīz) was founded in 1967 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Designed by English architect John Elliott, it had 2,000 faculty and more than 37,000 students in 2000/2001…
The Makkah Region or Mecca Region (Arabic: مكة المكرمة Makkah l-Mukarramah ) is the most populous region (mintaqah) in Saudi Arabia. It is located in western Saudi Arabia and has an extended coastline. It has an area of 153,128 km² and a population…
Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran, known by its inhabitants as the Dhahran Camp, is the residential community built by Saudi Aramco for its employees.
On 29 May 2004, a Saturday, four men armed with guns and bombs attacked two oil industry installations and a residential compound, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry. Over approximately 25 hours, the gunmen, describing them…
Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport or Prince Mohammad Airport (IATA: MED, ICAO: OEMA) is a regional airport in Medina. Opened in 1950, it handles domestic flights, while it has scheduled international services to regional destinatio…
'Asir or 'Aseer /ˈɑːsɪər/ (Arabic: عسير ʿAsīr) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country, named after the confederation of clans of the same name. It has an area of 81,000 km² and an estimated population of 2,190,000 It sh…
Ras Tanura (more accurately Ra's Tannūrah, Arabic: رأس تنورة meaning "cape oven, cape brazier" presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a penins…
King Khalid Military City (KKMC) (Arabic: مدينة الملك خالد العسكرية; transliterated: Medinat Al-Malek Khaled Al-Askariyah) is a special city in northeastern Saudi Arabia and about 60 km south of Hafar Al-Batin City, designed and built by the Middle…
Khamis Mushait or Khamis Mushayt (Arabic: خميس مشيط, Ḫamīs Mušayṭ) is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province, 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) 650 nautical miles from Dhahran and 884 kilometres (5…
Buraydah (Arabic: بريدة Burayda) is the capital of Al-Qassim Region in northcentral Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Buraydah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east.
King Abdullah Sports City (Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله الرياضية), also nicknamed The Shining Jewel, in Arabic (al-Jawhara Al-Moshe'ah) (Arabic: الجوهرة المشعة) or simply The Jewel, in Arabic (al-Jawhara) (Arabic: الجوهرة), is a new multi-use stadium…
Diriyah (Arabic: الدرعية), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya, is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The Al Faisaliyah Centre (or Al Faisaliah Centre, Arabic: برج الفيصلية) is a commercial skyscraper located in the business district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the third tallest building in Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom Centre and Abraj Al Bait.
Al Bahah (Arabic: الباحة Al Bāḥa) is a city in the south west of Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Al Bahah Region nestled between the resorts of Mecca and Abha, Al Baha is one of the Kingdom’s prime tourist attractions. It enjoys a pleasant clima…
King Fahd International Stadium (Arabic: أستاد الملك فهد الدولي) also nicknamed Pearl Of Stadiums, in Arabic (Durrat Al-Mala'eb) (Arabic: درة الملاعب ) or simply The Pearl, in Arabic (Addurra) (Arabic: الدرة) is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, S…
Abdul Aziz bin Fahd (عبدالعزيز بن فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) (born 1973) is a Saudi prince and member for the royal House of Saud.
Jazan Region (Arabic: جازان Jāzān) is the second smallest (smallest region is Al Bahah) region of Saudi Arabia. It stretches some 300 km along the southern Red Sea coast, just north of Yemen. It covers an area of 11,671 km² and a population of 1,36…
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM or UPM) (Arabic: جامعة الملك فهد للبترول و المعادن, Ǧāmiʿat al-Malik Fahd li-l-Bitrūl wa-l-Maʿādin – short: Arabic: جامعة البترول Ǧāmiʿat al-Bitrūl) is a public university in Dhahran, Saudi Ara…
Masjid al-Qiblatain (Arabic: المسجد القبلتین), or the Mosque of the Two Qiblas, is a mosque in Medina that is historically important for Muslims as the place where, after the Islamic prophet Muhammad received the command to change the direction of …
Hafar Al-Batin (Arabic: حفر الباطن Ḥafar al-Bāṭin) is a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province and located in the Northeastern region. It is located 430 km the north of Riyadh, 94.2 km from Kuwait border and about 74.3 from the Iraq border.
…Mina (also known as the Tent City) is a neighborhood of Mecca in Makkah Province, in western Saudi Arabia. It is situated 5 kilometers to the east of the Holy city of Mecca, and stands on the road from Mecca's city center to the Hill of Arafat.
Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University (Arabic: جامعة الإمام محمد بن سعود الإسلامية) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was founded in 1953. In 1974, it was granted university status by royal decree. The university houses 10 faculties. It currently has mo…
Al-Hofuf (also Hofuf , Hofof' or Hufuf, also known as Al-Hasa and Al-Ahsa) (Arabic: الهفوف al-Hufūf) is the major urban center in the Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Prince Sultan Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية) (IATA: AKH, ICAO: OEPS) (PSAB) is a military air base located in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
Jazan Economic City (Arabic: مدينة جيزان الاقتصادية) is an economic city in the Jizan Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a focus on the energy and manufacturing industries. Arab News reported in January 2011 that when the city is complet…
An Nafud or Al-Nefud or The Nefud (Arabic,صحراء النفود, ṣahrā' al-nefud) is a desert in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula at (28.30°N 41.00°E), occupying a great oval depression.
Rabigh (Arabic: رابغ) is an ancient town on the western coast of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea. It is in the Makkah Region. It used to be named "Al-Johfa" until the early years of the 17th century. In some ancient stories, the town had been compl…
On March 11, 2002, a fire at a girls' school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia killed fifteen people, all young girls. The event was especially notable due to complaints that Saudi Arabia's "religious police" (aka the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue an…