Saudi Arabia is a desert country encompassing most of the Arabian Peninsula, with Red Sea and Persian (Arabian) Gulf coastlines. Known as the birthplace of Islam, it's home to the religion's 2 most sacred mosques: Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca, destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage and Medina's Masjid an-Nabawi, burial site of the Prophet Muhammed (saw). Riyadh, the capital, is a skyscraper-filled metropolis.