Why Madinah anyway?
Just wondering why you'd choose that route in the first place unless you really want to visit Madinah (which you can't). Also, like Makkah, there's probably a 'non-muslim' route bypassing the city.
If you want the shortest route to Jordan, (don't have my map here) go to Riyadh, take a right from Al-Majmah (towards Kuwait).
From there on, there's a short-cut that's not apparent when coming from Riyadh although it's well marked coming the other way, go figure. It's maybe 80-100km before getting to the pipeline road (just before a huge 'secret' airbase on the west side of the road, should show up on your GPS). Anyhow, even if you miss the shortcut, just go to the pipeline road and take a left.
If you want to get some Hijaz scenery (which is quite nice), I'd suggest going north from Buraydah towards Al-Hail and from there to the Madinah-Tabuk road, or cross over the road and go to Al-Ula (Mada'in Saleh).
If you're heading to Egypt, you can catch a ferry from Duba to Safaga or Sharm El-Sheikh.
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