Medina
From Wikitravel
Contents
- For other places with the same name, see Medina (disambiguation).
Medina (المدينة Madinah) is a city in Saudi Arabia, to the north of Mecca.
[edit] Understand
Medina is the second holy city of Islam. The Prophet Mohammed migrated to Medina from Mecca, and taught there for some years before his triumphant return to Mecca. The city is commonly visited as part of the Hajj pilgrimage.
[edit] Get in
 WARNING: Central Medina is strictly off limits to non-Muslims. Since this restriction carries jail time and deportation, travellers would be wise to heed it. However, parts of the city, notably the airport, are open to all. |
[edit] By plane
For pilgrims, the most common route is to arrive in Jeddah by plane, and get on a special pilgrims' bus to Mecca and Medina, and come back to fly home in a couple of weeks. However, Medina's Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport (IATA: MED) fields an increasing number of direct flights from around the Middle East, and the airport is accessible to non-Muslims.
[edit] By bus
The Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) runs to and fro luxurious buses several times daily from most parts of the country at cheap rates. There are also privately run buses. The SAPTCO terminal is off-limits to non-Muslims.
[edit] Get around
There is no public transport other than taxis.
[edit][add listing] See
Since it is visited only by Muslims, for religious purpose, the main thing to see is the Masjid Nabawi or the Prophet's Mosque where devout Muslims offer prayers. Men are allowed to visit the actual burial site of the Prophet and pay respects throughout the opening hours of the mosque, which used to close for the night at around 10PM but has since become 24/7. Women may visit only after the Fajr or dawn and Duhr or afternoon prayers, when they are taken there in groups according to their countries. In fact most of the things to be done or seen are around this grand mosque which is at the city centre. Adjacent to the mosque is Jannatul Baqi, a huge graveyard, where most family members and companions of the Prophet are buried. Other things to be seen ,a little away from the city,are the plains and mountain of Uhud where the battle took place. There is also the burial ground of the 70 martyrs of this battle including the Prophet's uncle Hamza who is considered the greatest of all martyrs. Further away is the Masjid Qiblatayen where the Prophet was ordered by Allah to turn his face from Masjid Aqsa in Jerusalem to the Kaaba in Makkah while offering prayers; Masjid Jumua where the Prophet prayed the first Jumua or Friday prayers; Masjid Gamama where once he had prayed for rain; Masjid Quba at Quba, which is the first mosque of Islam. Another place worth visiting is the battleground of Khandaq or the Trench.
[edit][add listing] Do
Visit the grand mosque called Masjid Al-Nabawi. The Prophet Muhammad's burial site lies inside the mosque, along with the astonishing view and glamorous architecture of the beautiful mosque.
- Try and avoid [that is don't do] all the things you are used to in the west. I looked in vain for a computer so I could eMail when I first arrived. This was a mistake because there are precious few computers, and what point is there in trying to figure out how to send an English eMail on an Arabic keyboard. Every minute trying figure this out is a minute lost in this magnificent place.
[edit][add listing] Buy
The streets leading to and around the Prophet's Mosque are lined with shops selling goods of every variety. Visitors to Madina usually buy prayer rugs (some with magnets pointing towards the Kaaba), caps, Tasveeh or rosary beads, Abayas, pictures of the holy city and mosques, religious cds, copies of the Holy Quran, clocks sounding Azan or the call to prayer ( correct to the second) for nearly 5 million cities, etc as souvenirs to take back with them or as gifts for family and friends. The best of them to take back are Dates from Medina.
There are also huge glittering shopping complexes and malls selling goods from all over the world.
- Find a driver that speaks your language and tell him you want to hire his car for the day. Pay him generously and then ask him to show you the best things. You will get to see smaller, more interesting mosques and shops that sell the best dates in the world. Don't try and send post cards because they are unheard of. The banks I went to would not cash travelers checks and credit cards were unusable; which means bring a lot of cash. They like dollars and euros, but leave your shekelim at home.
[edit][add listing] Eat
There are restaurants selling almost all types of food from all over the world. There are Indian, Pakistani And Bangladeshi restaurants in abundance. There are also Chinese,Indonesian, Turkish,Egyptian, and local food available. The well known western fastfood chains like Mc Donald's,Pizza Hut, Don Giovanni's, KFC all have outlets, as well as the country's own famous fastfood chains like Al Baik,Kudu, Hardeez, etc also abound. The cheapest local delights are shawarma, taamiyya (a type of vegetable sandwich), foul (cooked beans) with tameez (bread), roasted whole chickens called Broasts.
[edit][add listing] Drink
Alcohol is prohibited.
[edit][add listing] Sleep
Medina has many hotels, most of which are very close to the Mosque,as it is visited mostly by Muslim pilgrims.
[edit] City center
The following hotels are for Muslims only.
Numerous 5 star hotels have been and are being constructed all around the Prophet's mosque within a radius of 500 m.
- Al Andalous Suites
- Madina Al Rawda Suites
- Dar Al Hijra Intercontinental
- Hilton Hotel
- The Oberoi
Beyond these are many budget hotels extending miles from the Masjid Nabavi. The tariff depends on a hotel's distance from the mosque, the nearer the more expensive. Even these low cost hotels have facilities like proper beds with clean linen, carpeted floors, air conditioning, refrigerator in every room, tiled bathrooms fitted with either eastern or western type WCs (sometimes both), 24 hours running hot and cold water. Kitchens with LPG and burners and sinks are also available for those pilgrims who would like to cook their own meals. But now all of these small old hotels are being demolished on a large scale to make way for starred hotels.
[edit] Outside forbidden zone
The following hotels are open to all.
- LeMeridien Medina, [1]. Previously the Sheraton, this is the only branded hotel in Medina open to non-Muslims. Near the airport and often used by airline crew. One night is about 600 riyals.
[edit] Get out
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