Saudi Arabia

A large country extending across the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. The vast land of Saudi Arabia is arid and thinly populated. Both Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam, are located in the country's western highlands, making it the most important destination for Muslim pilgrimage in the world, with millions of pilgrims visiting the region every year. The eastern parts of the country are abundant with oil fields that have, since the 1960s, made Saudi Arabia an extremely wealthy nation, to the point where the name is now stereotypically associated with extravagant riches.