The Hejaz

The Hejaz is a historical region of the western Arabian Peninsula, comprising the western province of Saudi Arabia and bordered by the Red Sea to the west, Jordan and the Gulf of Aqaba to the north, the Najd to the east, and South Arabia to the south. Its terrain ranges from the Red Sea coast through more than two thousand dormant volcanoes and extensive lava fields to the Sarawat mountain range. The Hejaz is the most populous region of Saudi Arabia, and its largest city, Jeddah, is the kingdom's second largest city overall, alongside Mecca, Medina, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Al-Bahah. It holds paramount religious significance as home to Mecca and Medina, the first and second holiest sites in Islam, and its population is ethnically diverse, with Hejazi Arabic the predominant spoken form of Arabic.