Riyadh, Dead Center of The Kingdom
Monday, May 12, 2008
Known by local wags as the Dead Center of the Kingdom, Riyadh is the most straight-laced of the Kingdom's big cities. With most forms of entertainment banned, few sights of interest and a brutal climate, Riyadh is a business-only destination if there ever was one, but it's also the best place in the Kingdom to watch the continuing collision of tribal Wahhabi conservatism grappling with modern technology and Western influences.
History
A dusty little oasis of under 10,000 people only a hundred years ago, Riyadh (or, rather, the neighboring hamlet of Diriyah) is the ancestral home of the al-Sauds. Driven out by the Rashids in 1891, King Abdulaziz bin Saud famously raided and recaptured the city in 1902. The city was made the capital of Saudi Arabia when the country was born in 1932, and has grown explosively ever since then — as of 2008, the city is estimated to have some 5,000,000 inhabitants, and is still growing fast.
Orientation
Riyadh is vast and sprawling. The main roads are King Fahd Rd (north-south) and Makkah Rd (west-east). The historical core of Al-Bathaa lies along King Fahd Rd to the south of Makkah Rd, while the modern business districts of Olaya and Suleimaniya are to the north. Riyadh's two skyscrapers serve as handy orientation points: Faisaliyah Tower (the pointy one) is towards the southern end of Olaya, while Kingdom Centre (the bottle opener) is at the northern end.
Climate
Located squarely in the middle of the central highlands of the Nejd, Riyadh suffers from the worst of Saudi Arabia's climatic extremes. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 50°C, while winter temperatures can fall below zero. It's bone dry throughout the year, and when the wind blows the city is often covered in a haze of sand.
History
A dusty little oasis of under 10,000 people only a hundred years ago, Riyadh (or, rather, the neighboring hamlet of Diriyah) is the ancestral home of the al-Sauds. Driven out by the Rashids in 1891, King Abdulaziz bin Saud famously raided and recaptured the city in 1902. The city was made the capital of Saudi Arabia when the country was born in 1932, and has grown explosively ever since then — as of 2008, the city is estimated to have some 5,000,000 inhabitants, and is still growing fast.
Orientation
Riyadh is vast and sprawling. The main roads are King Fahd Rd (north-south) and Makkah Rd (west-east). The historical core of Al-Bathaa lies along King Fahd Rd to the south of Makkah Rd, while the modern business districts of Olaya and Suleimaniya are to the north. Riyadh's two skyscrapers serve as handy orientation points: Faisaliyah Tower (the pointy one) is towards the southern end of Olaya, while Kingdom Centre (the bottle opener) is at the northern end.
Climate
Located squarely in the middle of the central highlands of the Nejd, Riyadh suffers from the worst of Saudi Arabia's climatic extremes. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 50°C, while winter temperatures can fall below zero. It's bone dry throughout the year, and when the wind blows the city is often covered in a haze of sand.
Labels: Saudi Arabia
posted by Daniy @ 9:43 PM,
