Arabia, The Hejaz and Asir

A virtually unbroken escarpment runs the length of the peninsula above the Red Sea. The stretch from the Gulf of Aqaba to a point about 200 miles south of Mecca is called the Hejaz (Al-Hijaz, meaning �The Barrier�), and the higher stretch from there to the Najran region near the Yemeni border has acquired the name of Asir ('Asir; from the name, meaning �Difficult,� of a prominent highland