Medina. City of Saudi Arabia

2022, Landscape, Oil on canvas

The Holy City, the ancient oasis called Yasrib in pre-Islamic time, to where in 622 the Prophet Muhammad moved from Mecca and where he was buried, appears in the form of an impregnable fortress. The artist sees it in the evening, when twilight has swallowed up the surrounding desert and only the high minarets of sacred buildings are illuminated and directed to the sky, like burning candles.

Most likely, we see the complex of the mosque Al-Masjid An-Nabawy - the Mosque of the Prophet, established on the site of an ancient mosque built by the Prophet Muhammad himself right near the walls of his house. This is the largest mosque in Saudi Arabia and the second largest in the world, its area with all her territories is 400.5 thousand square meters. In this picture, its rectangular outlines and the courtyard with minarets are guessed.

The area around the mosque is represented by the artist in dark color with large strokes. Perhaps this is an empty night city, and perhaps vice versa - it is a huge “sea” of pilgrims filled with thousands of people who came to bow to the holy place and pray.