Riyadh - the capital of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is a huge city in the middle of the desert. According to the 2013 census, over 5.5 million people lived in the city. It is a city of innumerable wealth, luxurious skyscrapers and the scorching sun. But it wasn't always like this..
Monuments and museums
The capital of Saudi Arabia boasts a large number of museums and architectural monuments. You can talk about them for hours, but it is best to tell in a nutshell about the most interesting and deserving of special attention..
The historical center named after King Abdel Aziz. This building is a real gem of the old quarter. The entire exposition of the museum tells about the history of the state, from its foundation to the present day. It contains a variety of documentaries, art objects, photographs, videos and more. Naturally, special attention is paid to the founder of the country - King Abdel Aziz.
The Riyadh Museum is another interesting museum that tourists often visit. The extensive exhibition tells visitors about different periods of history, from the Stone Age to the early Islamic period. Much attention is paid to ethnography. One of the halls houses a large model of the Masmak Fort..
Historical background
About four thousand years ago, there was only a small settlement of nomads on the site of the city. An inconspicuous village was located here in the period from the sixth to the seventh century. Only in the 13th century, a market was established in Riyadh, which grew very quickly, attracting new residents here. In 1821, the Saudis managed to found a state, the capital of which was Riyadh. This state was located on the territory of modern Saudi Arabia..
The real heyday came in the second half of the twentieth century. The fact is that in the bowels of the state there are huge deposits of oil. If in the 60s about 200 thousand people lived in the capital, then in the 80s this number increased to a million. Today the entire capital is divided into 15 districts. An overground metro operates here, skyscrapers are massively built, and various interesting projects are being implemented. It is impossible to find a building in the city that has less than eight floors. According to the plans of the developers, by 2017 another metro line will be built, one of the stations of which will be made of pure gold..
