 a long, thin strip of ocean, and then there's a mountain range on the east side, and the mountain range kind of stops the rain, which is why, you know, the whole Arabian Peninsula is a desert. Over on the other side, however, there are springs and rivers, and there's a lot more water on the west side, which means that Mecca and Medina, which were supposed to be part of the trade routes, there's no reason to go there.