Araby lies to the south of the Old World.
Araby may be considered comparable to the Near East at the time of the Ottoman Empire. It is a huge empire, composed of many theocratic Caliphates, ruled over by the Sultan Of All Araby. Arabian society is dominated by a religious fundamentalism and is not so technically advanced as that of the Old World. Around 1,000 years ago (in the year 1500, by Old World reckoning), Sultan Daryus-e Qabir launched a series of religious wars against the Old World, without any lasting success. Legends dating from this time have coloured the Old World attitudes to inhabitants of Araby, although there is a fair amount of trade between the two areas.
Araby is a hot, dry place, where water is scarce and few areas are really fertile. Much of the land is desert or shrubland, requiring careful irrigation to produce crops.