Which is better, Mecca or Medina?

The jurists have unanimously agreed that Mecca and Medina are the best places on Earth, but they differed on which of them is superior. The majority of jurists are of the opinion that Mecca is superior to Medina for several reasons, among them: the obligation to visit it for Hajj and Umrah, the Prophet's (peace be upon him) residence there for thirteen years after prophethood, the multitude of prophets, messengers, and righteous people who visited it, its exclusivity in being kissed and touched at the two Yemeni corners (of the Kaaba), the obligation to face it in prayer, its sanctity since the day Allah created the heavens and the earth, Allah's praise of it in the Holy Quran, and that prayer in the Sacred Mosque is equivalent to one hundred thousand prayers.

On the other hand, the well-known view of the Malikis is that Medina is superior to Mecca, and they unanimously agreed that the Kaaba is superior to Medina, with the exception of the Noble Shrine (Prophet's tomb). Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah holds that the Kaaba is superior to the dust of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) grave.

The more preponderant view is that Mecca is generally superior to Medina. The Prophet's (peace be upon him) supplication for the love of Medina was when his companions complained about its epidemic, so he prayed for them to love staying there and to dislike leaving it, and this does not indicate that Medina itself is superior to Mecca in all circumstances.