Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in the 1950s as an offshoot of the 18th century walled town following the dismantling of its defensive fortifications.
Diriyah, formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya, is a town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of Ar Riyad Province.
Unaizah or officially The Governorate of Unaizah is a Saudi Arabian city in the Al Qassim Province. It lies south of the province capital Buraydah and north of Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the second largest city in Al-Qassim Province with a population of 184,600.
Princes' School is a school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Al Masmak Palace, also called the Masmak Fortress or Masmak Fort, is a historic clay and mudbrick fort in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in close proximity to the al-Hukm Palace in the Qasr al-Hukm District. Commissioned in 1865 by Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud, it was completed in 1895 following the takeover of the town by the Rashidi dynasty. The fortress was the main theatre for the Battle of Riyadh in 1902, which marked the prelude to the unification of Saudi Arabia. It was opened to the general public in 1995 after its conversion into a museum.
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King Abdulaziz Historical Center(KAHC) (Arabic: مركز الملك عبدالعزيز التاريخي) is a cross-district heritage complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, covering south of al-Murabba and north of al-Futah. Inaugurated in 1999, it includes several historic buildings and open green spaces that surround the Murabba Palace compound, which was the main residence and workplace of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud between 1938 and 1953.
Omrania and Associates, also known as Omrania, is an international architectural, engineering, and urban planning firm based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1973, it specializes in the design of contextual and high-performance design projects.
Saudi National Day is a public holiday in Saudi Arabia celebrated annually on 23 September to commemorate the proclamation that renamed the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 through a royal decree by King Abdulaziz ibn Saud. It was founded in 1965 by King Faisal bin Abdulaziz in order to replace the Royal Seating Day, but at the same time letting it retain its predecessor's year count of 1930 instead of 1932. It was made a public holiday by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in 2005 and is one of the three non-religious holidays observed in the country, other being the Saudi Founding Day and Saudi Flag Day.
The following is a Gregorian timeline of the history for the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh Gallery Mall, or simply Riyadh Gallery, is an indoor shopping center and a commercial complex located in the King Fahd District of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Inaugurated in 2007, it covers an area of almost 38 acres and was owned by Saudi businessman Sheikh Saleh al-Rajhi. It is among the most popular malls in Riyadh and includes several retail outlets, hypermarkets and department stores.
The National Museum Park is an umbrella term used for the agglomeration of 5 out of 8 municipal parks and gardens in the al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, namely al-Haras, al-Soor, al-Wadi, al-Jisr and al-Madi that adjoin the Murabba Palace compound and the premises of National Museum as well as the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives in northern section of the King Abdulaziz Historical Center.
Al-Hukm Palace or The Ruling Palace, originally Ibn Dawwas Palace, and also known as the al-ʽAdl Palace, so called from the public square it overlooks from the south, is a historic palace and a popular cultural heritage landmark in the ad-Dirah neighbourhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located directly opposite to Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in the Qasr al-Hukm District. It is the historic site where tribal leaders and members of the Saudi royal family have been pledging allegiance to the country's political leadership. It was built in 1747 by Dahham ibn Dawwas alongside the city wall to safeguard the walled town from invaders and intruders. In the 1820s, Turki bin Abdullah, after gaining control of Najd, shifted the royal family's center of power from Diriyah to the walled town of Riyadh due to the former's severe destruction in a brutal siege during the Ottoman–Wahhabi War of 1818 as well as the town’s Ottoman sacking in 1821.
Noor Riyadh is an annual light and art festival that illuminates Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city. Considered the largest light art festival of its kind in the world, it falls under the umbrella of Riyadh Art, a project launched by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as an initiative of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to transform the Saudi capital into an open art exhibition.
Qasr al-Hukm District or the Justice Palace District, is a term used to define the area within the perimeters of the erstwhile walled town of Riyadh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, encompassing present-day districts of ad-Dirah and ad-Doho, that lie on several extinct douars that once fell within the enclosure of the gates of old city walls prior to its demolition in the 1950s. Named after the eponymous al-Hukm Palace, it is widely considered to be the antecedent to modern Riyadh since the metropolis outgrew as an offshoot of the walled town in the 1950s. Owing to its historical and architectural significance, it was rebuilt by the Saudi government from 1973 to 1992 and is situated southwest of al-Batʼha commercial area.
Downtown Riyadh is a term used for a group of 20 neighborhoods in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Covering an area of more than 3700 acres, it hosts some of the city's most important cultural and commercial districts, such as the King Abdulaziz Historical Center, the al-Batʼha commercial area and the Qasr al-Hukm District, while simultaneously overlapping with many of the old city areas of the capital metropolis, including the erstwhile walled town. The first downtown development plan was introduced in 2013 by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.
The walled town of Riyadh was the original core of Riyadh, the modern-day capital of Saudi Arabia, located on the western edge of Wadi al-Batʼha in present-day districts of ad-Dirah and ad-Doho. It emerged from the city-state of Migrin around 1746 when Dahham ibn Dawwas built a wall and a mudbrick palace within it, and ruled as the settlement's chieftain until his overthrow by the First Saudi State in 1773. It was later the center of power of the Second Saudi State for most of 19th century following brief Ottoman presence in the Najd. Abdulaziz ibn Saud recaptured the town in 1902 and made it the base for his 30-year long unification wars that led to the establishment of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The town served as the administrative center of the Saudi government before King Abdulaziz ibn Saud moved his workplace and residence to the Murabba Palace in 1944. In 1950, he instructed the dismantling of the fortifications in order to expand the settlement into a metropolis and the walled town eventually ceased to exist. The area covering the perimeters of the erstwhile town was renamed as the Qasr al-Hukm District in 1973 with the aim of preserving its historical and architectural significance.
Al-Zulfi is the most populous city in the Al-Zulfi Governorate, which encompasses the Al-Zulfi Emirate of Riyadh Province within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is situated in the center of the governorate, on the periphery of Shuaib Samnan, between the Tuwaiq Mountains and the sand dunes of Nafud al-Thuwairat. The city's population is 68,317.
Riyadh Art is a public art project in Saudi Arabia. It is one of Riyadh’s four megaprojects launched by King Salman bin Abdulaziz in March 2019, and one of the largest public art projects in the world. It is overseen by the National Megaprojects Committee led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City. The project is one of the initiatives that contribute to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
