Medina Saudi Arabia – the Prophet’s Mosque, historic sites and the city’s largest hotel

Medina — Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, “the Radiant City” — is Islam’s second holiest city after Mecca, and for a very long time it was essentially invisible to non-Muslim tourism. That changed. Saudi Vision 2030 opened the country to international tourists and gradually relaxed restrictions in Medina, meaning this extraordinary city is now accessible in a way it hasn’t been in modern history. The vlog covers the area around Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet’s Mosque), a walk from the mosque to the hotel, check-in at the Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick (the city’s largest hotel), a tour of Medina’s historic sites, shopping at Al Noor Mall, a full room and hotel tour, the attached shopping mall, prayer times throughout the day, dinner, the mosque at night, breakfast, checkout, and the Haramain High-Speed Railway to Jeddah. Before anything else: this is the content for both Muslim pilgrims doing Umrah or Hajj and for non-Muslim travelers who want to understand what visiting Medina actually means and what you can and can’t do. Let’s cover both honestly.

What non-Muslims need to know about visiting Medina

This section matters if you’re not Muslim, because the rules around Medina are frequently misunderstood and the internet is full of outdated information.

The city of Medina is open to non-Muslim visitors. Since 2023, non-Muslims have been permitted to visit the city of Medina itself — you can walk the streets, eat in restaurants, stay in hotels, and explore the historic districts. This is a recent and significant change from earlier restrictions.

The Prophet’s Mosque itself is a different matter. The central zone around Al-Masjid an-Nabawi remains restricted to Muslims only. This area is clearly marked with fences, signposts, and security guards. Clear boundary lines with green gates are established around the mosque. Non-Muslims can freely access most places inside the First Ring Road, and wandering around is possible as long as you don’t cross them.

In practical terms for non-Muslim visitors:

• ✅ You can stay at any hotel in Medina including the Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick next to the mosque
• ✅ You can walk the streets around the mosque, photograph the exterior and the famous green dome from outside the perimeter
• ✅ You can visit Quba Mosque — the first mosque built in Islamic history — and Al Baqi Cemetery is visible but entry to the cemetery may be restricted
• ✅ You can shop, eat, use the Haramain train, and generally experience the city’s extraordinary atmosphere
• ❌ You cannot enter the Prophet’s Mosque or its grounds
• ❌ Mecca, unlike Medina, remains completely off-limits to non-Muslims with no exceptions

One practical note from a non-Muslim traveler’s account: Medina is empty during the hot hours of the day. Plan your day to avoid being outdoors before 5 PM. Everything is empty before 5, but expect to see people and families out in the evenings. The city comes alive after sunset, particularly around the mosque — the vlog’s nighttime sections capture this energy accurately.

The Prophet’s Mosque — scale, history, and atmosphere

The vlog opens with the exterior of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi and spends nearly three minutes showing the approach and surroundings. Even from outside the perimeter, the scale is immediately apparent.

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi was originally built by the Prophet Muhammad in 622 CE on the site of his home in Medina after the Hijra migration from Mecca. It has been expanded repeatedly over fourteen centuries — the Ottoman sultans extended it significantly, and Saudi Arabia has undertaken multiple expansions making it today one of the largest mosques in the world, capable of holding over one million worshippers simultaneously during Hajj and Umrah. The mosque is the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad, and the green dome that marks his tomb is one of the most recognizable structures in the Islamic world.

The atmosphere around the mosque at different prayer times is one of the things the vlog captures across multiple sections — at Maghrib (just after sunset), Isha (night prayer), and Fajr (just before sunrise). For Muslim visitors, the proximity and the call to prayer resonating across the surrounding streets multiple times daily is the central experience of being in Medina. For non-Muslim visitors approaching the perimeter, the visual and auditory atmosphere of one of the world’s great sacred spaces — even from outside — is striking in a way that photographs don’t fully prepare you for.

Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick — the city’s largest hotel

The vlog checks in at the 05:43 mark and covers the hotel extensively — room tour at 26:52, hotel facilities at 36:33, the connected shopping mall at 39:44. The Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick Hotel is Madinah’s largest hotel, offering extensive facilities for families, individual travelers, and leisure groups. As well as being the nearest hotel to the Prophet’s Mosque, it is also close to all main attractions in Madinah, directly linked to the shopping mall with underground parking. It’s approximately 2 minutes from the mosque and offers partially renovated rooms.

The location is the dominant selling point and it genuinely is extraordinary. The hotel is 100-200 metres from Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, steps from the women’s entrance, with panoramic views of the mosque from upper floors. For pilgrims doing Umrah, being able to walk to the mosque in under two minutes — particularly for the Fajr prayer before sunrise — is the primary reason most guests choose this specific hotel over any other in Medina.

The honest picture from guest accounts: the ratings are mixed. One recent account describes the property as “very outdated and filthy inside” and notes that unless you’re near a lift you’ll be walking and waiting for a lift near prayer time, when the hotel fills with people returning from the mosque simultaneously. Other accounts rate the location 10/10 and mention spacious, clean rooms and an exceptional breakfast buffet. The property has undergone partial renovations in 2024.

The honest summary: the Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick is a large, partially renovated property whose main asset is its unrivalled proximity to the Prophet’s Mosque. For pilgrim travel where walking distance to the mosque is the overriding priority, the location justifies the booking. For guests expecting a consistently polished luxury product throughout, some areas of the property don’t match the five-star designation and the renovation work is ongoing. Manage expectations accordingly.

Practical details:

• 🏨 Four restaurants on site including Al Salam Restaurant serving traditional Saudi cuisine with panoramic mosque views
• 🛁 Steam room on site — no pool (unusual for a large five-star hotel, but consistent with Medina’s conservative character)
• 🛍️ Direct connection to a shopping mall via the hotel — the vlog covers this at the 39:44 mark
• 🅿️ Underground parking available — paid at SAR 5 per hour
• 📶 Free Wi-Fi throughout
• 💰 Rates from approximately USD 160-200 per night in normal periods, with significant premiums during Ramadan, Hajj, and Umrah peak seasons when demand from pilgrims drives rates substantially higher
• 🏅 Part of the Accor/ALL loyalty network — Accor Live Limitless points earn on stays

Historic sites — what the vlog covers

The vlog’s historic site tour runs from the 10:00 mark for over 11 minutes, giving a proper look at Medina’s religious geography beyond the Prophet’s Mosque itself. These are the sites that most pilgrims and Muslim visitors specifically come to see:

⛪ Quba Mosque — the first mosque in Islam

About 3.5 km from the Prophet’s Mosque, Quba Mosque holds the distinction of being the first mosque ever built in Islamic history — constructed by the Prophet Muhammad immediately upon his arrival in Medina in 622 CE. The original structure was modest; what stands today is a large contemporary mosque rebuilt in 1986 with capacity for thousands. Visiting Quba and praying two units of prayer there is specifically described in hadith as equivalent in reward to performing Umrah. Accessible to Muslim visitors and the surrounding area is generally viewable from outside for non-Muslims.

⚔️ Mount Uhud and the Battle of Uhud

Approximately 5 km north of the mosque, Mount Uhud is the site of the famous Battle of Uhud in 625 CE — one of the most significant battles in early Islamic history, where the Muslim army suffered a major setback against the Meccan forces. The mountain and the surrounding area are central to Islamic historical consciousness. The Martyrs’ Cemetery at the base of the mountain contains the graves of 70 companions of the Prophet, including his uncle Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib. A significant site for any visitor with an interest in early Islamic history.

🕌 Al-Masjid al-Qiblatayn — the Mosque of the Two Qiblas

The mosque where the direction of prayer (qibla) was changed from Jerusalem to Mecca during the Prophet’s time — a pivotal moment in Islamic history that occurred in the middle of a prayer service. The structure has been reconstructed in modern form but the historical significance remains intact.

🏚️ The historic dates market

The Madina Dates Market is approximately 3 km from the hotel and one of Medina’s most sensory experiences — hundreds of stalls selling every variety of Medjool, Ajwa, Sukkari, and regional dates, along with dried figs, nuts, and Arabian sweets. Ajwa dates from Medina have specific religious significance in Islamic tradition. This is where most visitors spend a notable amount of money on gifts and personal supplies before leaving the city.

Al Noor Mall — shopping in Medina

The vlog covers Al Noor Mall from the 21:40 mark for over five minutes. Al Noor Mall is one of Medina’s larger shopping centres — standard Saudi mall format with international and local brands, food court, and the kind of air-conditioned relief from the heat that makes malls a functional part of daily life in the Gulf and Hejaz regions. For visitors not doing pilgrim-focused shopping (the date markets, prayer beads, Zamzam water dispensers, Quran editions), Al Noor Mall covers the practical retail needs. The mall’s proximity to the mosque makes it a natural stop between prayer times.

The shopping mall directly connected to the Anwar Al Madinah Mövenpick (covered in the vlog at the 39:44 mark) operates as a separate convenience for hotel guests — accessible without going outside, useful for quick purchases between prayers or after the day’s activities.

Dining and food culture in Medina

Medina is entirely halal — not as a choice but as a baseline. There’s no alcohol anywhere, not at the hotel minibar, not at restaurants, not anywhere in the city. This is worth stating clearly for first-time visitors to Saudi Arabia. The upside: the food culture in Medina is genuinely excellent and deeply regional.

The hotel’s dinner restaurant is covered in the vlog at the 45:50 mark. The breakfast buffet at the 58:17 mark gets a substantial section — breakfast buffet is available 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM at SAR 65-150 for adults. Multiple guest accounts specifically praise the breakfast as exceptional. The daily changing menu and variety of Arabic and international options make it worth the supplement even if not included in your rate.

Outside the hotel, the streets around the mosque are lined with Saudi fast food chains, bakeries selling fresh khobz (Arabic flatbread), shawarma shops, and regional Saudi restaurants. Kabsa — the national dish of Saudi Arabia, spiced rice with meat — is available everywhere and done well in Medina. The city’s restaurant culture picks up dramatically after Maghrib prayer as families and pilgrims fill the surrounding streets.

Prayer time rhythm — how it shapes life in Medina

The vlog covers four prayer times across the stay — Maghrib (sunset, 43:36), Isha (night, 47:07), Fajr (pre-sunrise, 57:19), and implicitly the midday and afternoon prayers — and this structure is worth understanding before you arrive. In Medina, the call to prayer from the Prophet’s Mosque cascades across the entire city five times daily and the rhythm of life genuinely organizes around it. Shops may briefly close during prayer. The streets around the mosque fill and empty with the timing of each salah. For Muslim visitors this is the central experience. For non-Muslims, understanding the prayer schedule helps you plan movement — arriving at the mosque area when a prayer is just beginning means navigating a very large crowd of worshippers.

Getting to Medina and the Haramain train to Jeddah

The vlog ends with the Haramain High-Speed Railway journey to Jeddah, covered from the 1:02:14 mark. This is relevant practical information for how most international visitors arrive and depart.

Getting to Medina:

• ✈️ Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (MED) — approximately 15 km from the city centre. Approximately 9.9 miles from the airport to the Mövenpick. Airport shuttle buses to the city cost SAR 11.5 (~USD 3) every 40 minutes. Taxis and ride-hailing apps (Careem and Uber both operate in Medina) cover the same route in about 20 minutes
• 🚆 Haramain High-Speed Railway — connects Medina to Jeddah, King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), and Mecca. Services are frequent with up to 15 departures per day in each direction. Journey time is just under two hours from Jeddah. This is the efficient option for a Medina-Jeddah or Medina-Mecca connection without flying

The Haramain train experience itself is worth mentioning: it’s a modern high-speed rail system running at up to 300 km/h through the Hejaz landscape — industrial desert, mountains, and the occasional ancient lava field. Business class is available with a meaningful upgrade in comfort for a two-hour journey. The Medina train station is a significant piece of architecture in its own right. Tickets are bookable through the Saudi Arabian Railway Company (SAR) website or app and sell out during peak religious travel periods — book in advance if your travel coincides with Ramadan or Hajj season.

Best time to visit Medina: November through February offers the most comfortable temperatures (15-25°C). March through May and October are shoulder months with manageable heat. June through September is extreme — temperatures regularly exceed 40°C. Ramadan transforms the city into its most spiritually intense and most crowded state simultaneously; hotel rates multiply and availability requires booking months ahead. Hajj season (10 days in Dhul Hijjah, the Islamic calendar’s last month) brings the largest crowds of any annual event on earth. If you want the spiritual atmosphere without peak crowds and prices, November through February outside Ramadan is the window.

Practical considerations before you travel

• 🧥 Dress modestly throughout — long trousers and covered shoulders for men, modest clothing and headscarf for women, especially in the mosque vicinity. This applies in the streets as well as at religious sites
• 📱 Careem and Uber both operate in Medina — useful for reaching sites like Mount Uhud and Quba Mosque that are too far to walk
• 💧 Zamzam water is available throughout the city. In the hotel and around the mosque, dispensers provide free Zamzam water — the sacred water from Mecca’s Zamzam Well brought to Medina for pilgrims
• 📸 Photography — respectful photography of public areas and the mosque exterior is generally fine. Photographing people without permission is not. Inside mosques, photography policies vary by mosque and time
• 💰 Currency — Saudi Riyal (SAR). Digital payments are widely accepted. ATMs are plentiful around the mosque area and in malls
• 🌙 Alcohol — completely absent in Saudi Arabia outside very limited diplomatic contexts. This is not a policy that varies by hotel or location

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel