Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province is one of the thirteen administrative provinces in Saudi Arabia. It is located in the central-western part of the Kingdom, at an approximate elevation of 625 m above sea level. It is located about 430 km north of Makkah al-Mukarramah and approximately 150 km straight-line from the seashore, with the nearest port being Yanbu, located about 220 km to the southwest. al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province is also about 980 km from Riyadh. al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province ranks third in terms of total area in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province gained fame even before the advent of Islam due to the establishment of Yathrib and the migration of tribes to it. Its reputation further increased after the Prophet's migration, and it became known as Taybah al-Taybah (the purest of pure), or al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, the starting point of the Islamic religion and the capital of the Islamic Caliphate.

The city holds great religious significance as it houses al-Masjid al-Nabawai, where the prophet Mohammad resided and where his grave is. Additionally, it is home to the first mosque built in Islam, known as Quba' Mosque.

The total area of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province is 150,000 km², covering 7.7 percent of the Kingdom's land. Among the thirteen provinces of the Kingdom, al-Madinah al-Munawwarah ranks fourth in population, with a population of 2,137,983 individuals, according to the 2022 Saudi Census. This represents 6.68 percent of the total population of Saudi Arabia, with an average of 14.2 persons per km of its land.

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province includes eight governorates within its geographical and administrative scope. These governorates are Yanbu, al-Ula, Mahd al-Dhahab, Badr, Khaybar, al-Hinakiyah, al-Ais, and Wadi Al-Far'. In addition, there are ninety-six centers within the province. Al-Madinah Region Development Authority was established by a Royal Decree in 2009, followed by a decision by the Council of Ministers to name it Al-Madinah Region Development Authority. The governor of Madinah Province chairs the authority and includes the Ministers of Finance and Hajj, as well as the Mayor.

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province is a historical tourist destination, distinguished by al-Ula Governorate in the region's north. Al-Ula is home to Mada’in Salih, the capital of the Nabateans, which is one of the oldest inhabited regions in the Kingdom. It is also the first Saudi Arabian site registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, preserving artifacts, sites, and inscriptions from over 1700 years BCE.

Visitors, pilgrims, and Umrah performers are keen to visit the historical and archaeological landmarks in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, especially the mosques such as Quba' Mosque, al-Qiblatain Mosque, al-Jumu'ah Mosque, al-Fath Mosque, al-Ghamamah Mosque, al-Ijabah Mosque, al-Shuhada Mosque, al-Khandaq Mosque, and Miqat Mosque. Additionally, they also visit the sites of historical battles, including the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Khandaq, as well as the martyrs' cemetery near Mount Uhud.

Over the years, several exhibitions and museums have been built in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, opening their doors to visitors to explore their collections, models, and multimedia presentations. They have become a destination for those visiting the Prophet's Mosque during the seasons of Umrah and Hajj due to their proximity.

In August of 2022, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed the launch of the infrastructure and blueprints for the Rua Al-Madinah project, located east of the Prophet's Mosque. The project seeks to accommodate up to thirty million Umrah performers by 2030, and will span a total area of approximately 1.5 million m2. The project includes the construction of forty-seven thousand hospitality units, as well as open squares and green areas to make it easier for visitors to access the Prophet's Mosque. The project will also reserve around sixty-three percent of its area for open spaces and green areas.

Economically and historically, al-Madinah al-Munawwarah is distinguished by the presence of the Mahd al-Dhahab Mine, which dates back 3,000 years, as discovered traces found that it was used three thousand years ago. Modern production in the mine started in 1988. It contains over sixty km of tunnels, and mining operations are carried out vertically at a depth of 300 meters from the surface. The ore beneficiation plant at the mine site recovers gold, silver, and copper from gold ore.

The region is served by two airports: Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Airport in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, with a passenger capacity of 4.8 million passengers annually, and Prince Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz Airport in Yanbu, with 900,000 passengers annually.

In al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province, there are two public universities: the Islamic University of Madinah specializing in Islamic studies, and Taibah University. They are located in the administrative capital, al-Madinah, with branches spread across the province.

Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province is characterized by its hot climate, with temperatures ranging between thirty-six and forty-five degrees Celsius during the summer and between fifteen and twenty degrees Celsius during the winter. The average temperature is around thirty degrees Celsius in summer and fifteen degrees Celsius in winter. The region usually experiences rainfall between November and January, although overall, it has low levels of precipitation averaging ninety-four millimeters.