'the Barrier', Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [alħɪˈdʒaːz]) is a region that includes the majority of the west coast of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Baljurashi.

[3] As the location of the cities of Mecca[4] and Medina,[5][6][7] respectively the first and second holiest sites in Islam, the Hejaz is significant in the Arabo-Islamic historical and political landscape.

[22] According to Arab and Islamic sources, the civilization of Mecca started after Ibrāhīm (Abraham) brought his son Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) and wife Hājar (Hagar) here, for the latter two to stay.

The Adnanites were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelite Arabs, who trace their lineage back to Ishmael son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Abraham and his wife Hagar through Adnan, who originate from the Hejaz.

[28][29][30][31][32][33] Saudi Arabia's and Hejaz's first World Heritage Site that was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is that of Al-Hijr.

The name Al-Ḥijr ("The Land of Stones" or "The Rocky Place") occurs in the Qur'an,[34] and the site is known for having structures carved into rocks, similar to Petra.

[22][43][44][45] As the land of Mecca[4] and Medina,[5][6][7] the Hejaz was where Muhammad was born, and where he founded a Monotheistic Ummah of followers, bore patience with his foes or struggled against them, migrated from one place to another, preached or implemented his beliefs, lived and died.

After the end of the Ottoman suzerainty and control in Arabia, in 1916, Hussein bin Ali became the leader of an independent State of Hejaz.

[57] Other Dishes were imported from other cultures through Saudis of different origins, like Mantu (منتو), Yaghmush (يَغْمُش) and Ruz Bukhāri (رُز بُخاري) from Central Asia, Burēk (بُريك) and Šurēk شُريك and Kabab almīru (كباب الميرو) from Turkey and the Balkans, Mandi (مَنْدي) and Mutabbag (مُطَبَّق) from Yemen, Biryāni برياني and Kābli (كابلي) rice dishes from South Asia.

Depending on the previous definition, the Hejaz includes some of the mountains of the Sarat range, which topographically separate the Najd from Tehamah.

[58] Lava fields in the Hejaz, known locally by their Arabic name of ḥarrāt (حَرَّات, singular: ḥarrah (حَرَّة)), form one of Earth's largest alkali basalt regions, covering some 180,000 km2 (69,000 sq mi), an area greater than the state of Missouri.

The project will involve "the development of 22 of the 90+ islands"[67] that lie along the coast to create a "fully integrated luxury mixed-use destination",[68] and will be "governed by laws on par with international standards".

[71] People of Hejaz, who feel particularly connected to the holy places of Mecca and Medina, have probably the most strongly articulated identity of any regional grouping in Saudi Arabia.