Interaction between people and places invests the latter with history, meaning and value, and the character of a place emerges as a result of that. This is particularly so when the place has an atmosphere of holiness that infuses residents and visitors alike with its spirit - something almost inconceivable to those who do not share a faith in that place, For Muslims, wherever they come from, Madinah is such a place for it is home to some of the holiest sites, which bore witness to momentous events that occurred around them. The presence of the Masjid Al Nabawi - the Prophet's Mosque, "Al Haram Al Madani" - where the Prophet himself 'is buried, along with his two closest comrades, Abu Bakr Al Siddig and Omar bin Al Khattab, is enough to distinguish the place. But the fact that the early battles to spread and implement the call for Islam were fought out there adds further weight and significance, that can scarcely be matched anywhere else.

Prominent among the elements of Madinah's character are the mountains that form a northward extension to the Sarat and Hijaz Mountains, with valleys inside and the "harrahs" (vast areas of black voleanic rocks) outside. These three elements, together with the palm groves in the valleys, are the first things geographically speaking, that come to mind when Madinah is mentioned, for the city is surrounded by them on almost every side.

Yet it is not only the physical mountains that loom large on the horizon, but what they tell us of the history and culture of the place. Madinah is famous for mountains that are synonymous with the history of Islam and what it means for Muslims. Mountains here have names almost as intimately associated with them as the names of the people, 'Uhud' comes first, rising to 1072 meters alongside other mountains such as 'Al Waierah' and 'Thor,' While none of these is as huge in extent or of such extreme height as many other mountains, they are great because of the associations that accompany them. By such associations Uhud is particularly vast, for around it and on its rocks was fought one of the most famous battles that shaped the history of Islam. Muslims lost the first round of that battle, but won the second and it remains intimately close and fresh in people's memory if only for the words of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): "Uhud is a mountain that loves us and that we love." Among the reasons why it was so named, we are told, is that it stands alone (Uhud derives from 'ahad' and 'wahid', both of which in Arabic mean 'one' and connote being 'alone'). Another reason, it is suggested, is that it supported the people of unity, that is Muslims who believe in one God. A contemporary Madinah poet, M. E. Al Khatrawi, articulated some of the reasons why Uhud is close to people's hearts:

'Uhud', the pilgrims, and the heart bearing Looking upward to God with supplications and hope, And the senses of valor and generosity are throes of death; And histories urges to crying, Longings to wondering as to what forefathers have Bequeathed to posterity. Here one day was where people stood still, Here where martyrs went upward, Remains of their smell and steps refuse to bow down to Extinction.

As a result of such interaction, places become not geographic sites as much as spaces populated by meaning, horizons where history and geography intermingle with faith, aspirations, and suffering. What applies to Uhud and other topographic sites is true, perhaps even more so, of other major landmarks. Supreme among these is the Prophet's Mosque along with other historically famous houses of worship, such as Quba' and Al Qiblatain mosques. The latter was so named because, when it was first built, Muslims prayed in the direction of Al Quds; but then the ‘qibla" (praver direction) was changed to Makkah and the mosque had to be altered accordingly. As for Masjid Al Quba’, it was the first mosque to be built in Islam. The Prophet (PBUH) drew its parameters when he came to Madinah for the first time, and he continued to come to it later. It is now surrounded by farms of palm trees, abundant with the famous Madinah dates.