[Original caption] ARABIA. Yembo, port of Islam's holy city, Medina, lies on the eastern coast of the Red Sea in the Hejaz. Ornate but decrepit buildings flank the streets traversed by pilgrim bands and straggling camel caravans. [end]
During the middle part of the 1st millennium BCE, the natural harbor of Yanbu played an important role in the trade of spices and incense. The British and Arab forces used Yanbo as their base of military operation during the First World War (1914-1918).
At present, Yanbu is the second largest port of Saudi Arabia, after Jiddah. Medina is located 160 kilometers to the east.  |
