or El Medinah, a city of Arabia, in the province of El Hejaz, is situated in a wide plain forming part of the central plateau of Arabia, about 100 miles N.E. of Yambu, its port on the Red Sea, and about 260 N. of Mecca; N. Lat. 25° 15′; E. Long. 39° 30′. Medina consists of a town, a castle, and a suburb nearly as large as the town. The main body of the town is of an irregular oval shape, and is surrounded by walls, built of granite and basalt, in a regular and substantial manner. Entrance is afforded by four gates, two of which, the Bab el Mirri, or Egyptian Gate, on the W., and the Bab el Jumah, or Friday Gate, on the E., consist of large strong buildings, with double towers painted with broad stripes of red, yellow, and other colours. Along the walls, at short distances, there are placed smaller semicircular towers for the additional security of the city. The streets are irregular, narrow, dark, and unpaved, being covered with a soil consisting of hard, black earth. The houses are well built of a basaltic stone, and are generally two storeys high, with flat roofs. Those of the better sort are provided with a large open courtyard, where trees and water basins are frequently seen. The houses have latticed balconies, like those of most eastern towns; and the windows are extremely small. The number of the houses in the town and suburb is believed to amount to 1300, of which there are a few in a ruined state. The castle, which is situated at the N.W. corner of the city, on a rock, is built like the walls and towers of the city, but in a stronger and more substantial manner. Its entrance is from the E. It is well provided with artillery, ammunition, and provisions, and has a garrison of 400; but it could offer no effective resistance to a force with a few guns and shells. To the S. and W. of the town is the suburb, separated from it by a broad road on the S., called the Darb el Jenazah, or Road of Biers, and on the W. by a plain called El Munakhah, about three-quarters of a mile in length by 300 yards in breadth. Although more extensive than the town, the suburb has not so many houses, as it is built in a straggling manner, with many open spaces. On the side next the town it is unprotected; but on the other side there is a wall, which is in a very ruinous condition. The houses in the suburb are for the most part arranged round large courtyards; they are low, and inhabited principally by the lower classes, who are employed to a great extent in agriculture. The suburb has several gates leading to the country; but the only one of these that is of any size is that at the W., called Ambari, a bad imitation of one of the gates of Cairo. The only buildings in the suburb worthy of notice are the governor's house, which is a plain building, situated near El Munakhah; and the five mosques, which are all very much alike,—neat stone edifices, surmounted by cupolas and minarets. Medina is especially famous for the Mosque of the Prophet, which is one of the two sanctuaries of Mohammedanism, and regarded by the Moslems as the second of the three most venerable places of worship in the world; the first being the mosque at Mecca, and the third that at Jerusalem. One of the sects of the Mohammedans even give it the precedence over Mecca, as being the place of burial of Mohammed; while others, on the contrary, do not approve of the high honour that is bestowed upon it by the generality of Mohammedans. The Mosque of Medina is an oblong building, about 420 feet long by 340 broad; and a great part of it, as is usual in Mohammedan mosques, is open to the sky. It is entered by five gates; and has five minarets, which, though not destitute of beauty and grandeur, have little regularity or uniformity. The open part of the mosque is surrounded by a colonnade; of which the northern side is unfinished, and will consist of granite columns and a pavement of marble. On the eastern side there are three rows of columns; on the western four; and the southern side has a much deeper colonnade, consisting of larger columns, and inclosing the tomb of the prophet. The columns of the mosque are very various in form and style, and are not distinguished by any architectural beauty or merit. In the centre of the open court there is a small square piece of ground inclosed by a wooden railing. This is called the Garden of Fatimah, the prophet's daughter, and it contains twelve date trees, of the fruit of which presents are sent to the sultan. To the S.E. of this inclosure stands the Well of the Prophet, supposed by some to have an underground communication with the Zem-Zem at Mecca; although by the majority of Moslem writers it is not held in much veneration, nor esteemed as a holy well. In the covered part of this mosque stands the Hujrah, which contains the tomb of Mohammed, and those of Abu Bekr and Omar, the first two caliphs. They lie with the heads pointing W. and the feet E., the head of each being opposite to the shoulders of the one immediately in front. These tombs are concealed from sight by a curtain of silk, which is renewed whenever it falls into decay, and upon the accession of a new sultan. It bears inscriptions in gold characters, to the effect that this is the tomb of the prophet and of the first two caliphs; and the position of Mohammed's grave is marked by a large rosary of pearls. Of the tomb of the prophet itself the accounts are very various; and as no one is allowed to approach it on account of the blinding light said to be emitted from it, the descriptions are not much to be relied upon. The popular account of the coffin being suspended between heaven and earth is a tale which is confined to foreigners, and has probably arisen either from the rude drawings of the mosque, or from a confusion between this and the rock said to be thus suspended in the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem. To the N. of these tombs is that of Fatimah, who is, however, supposed by many to be buried not here, but in the Bakia cemetery. Notwithstanding the universal tradition of the Moalims, it seems very doubtful whether Mohammed be really buried here at all, not only from the extreme discrepancy of the accounts given of the tomb by the learned, but from the great probability that the fable of the miraculous light surrounding it has been invented for the purpose of preventing any inquisitive visitor from prying too closely into the defects of the place. The mosque of Medina has been built and rebuilt six times at different periods; this having been rendered necessary by its frequent destruction by various accidents. The last time of its rebuilding was in 1710 A.D., when it was erected nearly in its present form. The establishment connected with the mosque is large. At the head of it stands the principal of the mosque, who has a salary of about L300 a month. Under him is a deputy, a black eunuch, who has a pay of L50. There is also a treasurer and sub-treasurer; besides a chief of the writers and an assistant, who keep the accounts of the mosque. There are also about 120 eunuchs who are under three shaykhs, and divided into three orders. Of these, the first act as doorkeepers, the second take care of the cleaner parts of the building, and the third clean the remaining parts, and prevent people from sleeping in the mosque. They get from L2 to L5 a month, besides the gratuities they may receive from visitors; and they are in general much respected. There are also a number of free servants, taken from the lower orders of the citizens, who are employed, in parties of 30 each, for a week, and have not much to do. There is also a kazi or judge, sent annually from Constantinople, who has under him three mafatis; and the various other ministers of the mosque are very numerous. In the neighbourhood of Medina is El Bakia, the burial-place of the saints, of an irregular oblong form, inclosed by walls, and surrounded by plantations of palms. In the interior, however, there are no trees or flowers; and the buildings are simple, and by no means remarkable. The inhabitants of Medina are exempt from the payment of taxes, for the attendants of the mosque are paid partly by the sultan, and partly from the rents of the lands in different parts of the world which have been bequeathed to the sanctuary. A certain allowance is also given at Constantinople to any of the inhabitants of this city who may wish to travel. Commerce, however, is little carried on here; and the principal articles are grain, cloth, and provisions. In character the people of Medina are proud and indolent, looking down upon all strangers, and considering labour to be unfit for all but slaves. The climate of Medina is in winter comparatively severe; but in summer the heat is great, though not so oppressive as at Mecca. Throughout the winter rain falls frequently and in great abundance, so that the plain between the city and the suburb is at that season generally covered with water. Pop. from 16,000 to 18,000.