Astronaut Soichi Noguchi captured from ISS Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Medina (Madīnah or Madinah) is considered to be the second-holiest of three key cities in Islamic tradition, with Mecca and Jerusalem serving as the holiest and third-holiest cities respectively. Located at the core of the Medina Province in the western reaches of the country, the city is distributed inland widely, while the rest is occupied by the Hejaz Mountains, empty valleys, agricultural spaces and older dormant volcanoes. Medina is generally considered to be the “cradle of Islamic culture and civilization”. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (lit. ’The Prophet’s Mosque’) is of exceptional importance in Islam and serves as burial site of the last Islamic prophet, Muhammad, by whom the mosque was built in 622 CE. Observant Muslims usually visit his tomb, or rawdhah, at least once in their lifetime during a pilgrimage known as Ziyarat, although this is not obligatory.
The local scenery on the ground is as follows.
Reference: Soichi Noguchi’s Tweet
See earthview photo gallery: LiVEARTH