Wonders that define Riyadh and Saudi Arabia’s national story
MASMAK FORTRESS
In 1902, Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Saud, who would
achieve fame as
Ibn Saud, the man who would go on to found the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia,
led a small party of warriors west to Riyadh, attacking
Masmak Fortress,
driving out the rival Rashidi forces and reclaiming his
family’s rightful
heritage. The fort remains today as a museum of Saudi
history.
DIRIYAH
Diriyah rose to prominence in 1720, when Saud ibn
Mohammed of Al-Muqrin
assumed the leadership of the town, founding the House
of Saud. In 2010
AtTuraif district of Diriyah was listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage site. In
2019
King Salman laid the foundation stone of the Diriyah
Gate project, a 7 sq. km
development now nearing completion as a global cultural
and lifestyle
destination.
WADI HANIFAH
In 1446 Ibn Dir, the ruler of Hajr, a town on the site of
modern-day Riyadh,
offered land on the
fertile banks of the Wadi Hanifah to his cousin, Manaa’
Al-Muraide, leader of
the Marada clan
of Al-Duru tribe of Bani Hanifah. Al-Muraide and his
people named their new
home Diriyah
after their old settlement. Ever since, the wadi has
flowed through the story
of Saudi Arabia.
QASR AL-MURABBA
Following the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
in 1932, the Qasr
Al-Hokm was no
longer large enough to serve as the seat of government,
so a new,
purpose-built venue was
built 2 km to the north of the old city. Completed in
1938, it was the first
development outside
the city walls. Today Al-Murabba stands at the heart of
the King Abdulaziz
Historical Center.