The Old Diriyah, according to the recent history of Saudi Arabia , was a kingdom. The family of Saud once ruled the kingdom in the early 1800s. The remains of those ruined palaces were built of mud bricks and stones, supported with some blunt timber. The Old Diriyah can be reached by a two-wheel drive and is only few km away from the city center of Riyadh.
(Thanks to IMP1's photostream for this photo). The ruined Old Diriyah
In its heyday, Diriyah had approximately 5,000 residents and 400 to 500 guests daily fed in the ruler’s palace. In addition, there were thousands of fighting men, available to do battle for the ruler. However, in 1818, Diriyah was laid waste, after a six - months' siege by the Ottoman Empire .
When we entered inside the circumference of the kingdom, we saw that the ruins rise romantically above the palms, and can be seen from the highway. Without special permission, you can visit the place especially on a weekday morning, and you can have the place to yourself to enjoy.
To get an idea of the traditional design of the old houses, we had passed through the narrow old streets, saw those rooms open off a central courtyard, partially open to the sky, and partly covered by an upper story.
The most picturesque of the Diriyah is the Salwa palace area, located on the left side of the main entrance. The palace is a four-story. During its heyday, the palace served as the administrative seat of government, and as well as the residential complexes.
In order to get an idea of what the town looked liked at the height of its power, we ascended up to the highest part of the area, where the palace of Prince Saud bin Saud has been completely rebuilt. The palace is adjacent to the smaller palace of Prince Naser bin Saud, built of mud - bricks in a traditional way. The ruined Old Diriyah is really an attraction on treks.
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