Carved door panels from the El Salih Talay Mosque

Located on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, Hejaz includes the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In 1916, the Great Sheriff of Mecca declared the Hejaz independent of Turkish rule and joined the British against Turkey during World War I. After the defeat of Turkey, the Hashemite family, which had long ruled the Hejaz, provided leaders to the new states of Iraq and Transjordan. After the First World War, the independence of the kingdom of Hejaz was confirmed, but in 1924 it was invaded by the traditional rivals of the Hashemites, the Wahhabis of Eastern Arabia, led by Ibn Saud. The Hejaz was quickly conquered and absorbed in the Wahabbi kingdom. In 1932, the United Kingdom was renamed Saudi Arabia.