Jeddah

Jeddah is the largest city in Mecca Province, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, and the country’s main commercial center. It is in the Hejaz region on the Red Sea coast. The city’s metropolitan area is coterminous with Jeddah Governorate. Its prominence grew in 647 CE when the Caliph Uthman of the Rashidun Caliphate designated it as the main port serving travelers to Mecca. Jeddah is the largest city in Hejaz and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative center of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East. Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers (40 mi) to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers (220 mi) to the north. Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. Jeddah was ranked fourth in the Africa, MiddIe East, and -stan countries region in the Innovation Cities Index in 2009.