Historical Ad-Dir’iyah
Historical Ad-Dir’iyah located in northeast Riyadh, and it is the capital of the first Saudi state. In the past people used to call it Al-awja. It is one of the spots you must visit in Riyadh, it mixed the old with modern architecture where some buildings are built in the traditional Najdi pattern and other in modern one . Trust me, you will feel the both eras.
Ad-Dir’iyah has many famous Quarters such as Al-qsaibah, Al-tarifah, Albujeiri, Al-dahirah, Al-odah and Al-balidah. Al-turif Quarters is registered in UNESCO as one of the historical places in the kingdom . What makes Ad-Diriah special is the location. First, it is located in the center of the Arabian Peninsula between the east and the west, on the old commercial road. Second, it is located on the way to Makkah. Finally, it’s located in between valleys. It overlooks the largest valley in the Arabian Peninsula “Wadi Hanifah”. Wadi Hanifah runs through old Ad-Dir’iyah and have several branches, they are Al-traif, Al-khasif, Al-mghaisiibi, Al-harigah, Qusayer, saffar, shua’b kutla, Al-qurain, Qura omran, Nazira, Al-salmani, Al-malqa, Al-dabbous, Al-olab, qasibah, Al-rafiah, and Samhan.
Al-turif Quarter , in particular, has many palaces and historical places for example Omar Bin Saud Palace (15 houses near to this palace are now reopened for daily rent to experience the traditional Arabian life), Saad Bin Saud palace and mosque, Moudi Mosque, Nasser Bin Saud palace, guesthouse and Al-turif Bath, and Al-buraikah Mosque.
The place is really good to spend quality time with your loved one, you can go for a picnic, walk or maybe enjoy yourself reading your favorite book. Al-bujuiri was my escape place when I get bored, and want to have (me) time away from everything. I usually go walking between buildings and wondering. As I’m passionate person about history, I always love to go to places that have the old-fashioned style and keep wandering around. How they lived, what was their biggest issue, what was the thing they most liked, or the things made them overjoyed, and feel the happiest people on earth. How they are celebrating and welcoming the holy months, and what they usually do in preparation, their weddings, their life, everything. I do this every time and everywhere I go to a historical place in this world. I always wish if there were a time machine that could take me back to any time and place to see the people who lived there in each era.
The place has a lot to offer, there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, mini shops around. The most famous traditional restaurant is called Algariah Alnajdi’ah (Najad Village). Najad is the name of the central region of the kingdom. You might guess that the provided food is the traditional food of this region ONLY. However, the reality is all the dishes here are popular dishes among all the Arabian tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, so the foods in the kingdom are somewhat similar. The restaurant worth the visit if you are looking to eat a traditional Saudi food or to eat like a native. If you need a recommendation of which dish to order, I will be glad to help, although I like most of the traditional dishes. Nevertheless, there are plenty of international restaurants around the area.
The most important thing to visit in Ad-Dir’iyah is the museums in Alturif Quarter, you must visit all of them. Honestly, they are amazing. There are 6 museums, they are the image museum, Ad-Dir’iyah museum in Salwa palace, Al-khail (horse) museum, social life museum (located in Omar Bin Saud palace), Military museum, museum of treasury. These museums will show you the history of Saudi Arabia, from the first Saudi state till the last one. Moreover, it shows some everyday objects during these times. Along the way you can see Al-awja palace (the royal palace).
Ad-Dir’iyah is not only has museums, but also has an art center. Some of these centers are still under construction. There is an art center called Ama art venue. It is located near to the Najad village restaurant in Al-bujeiri plaza, if you wish to visit. They held workshops and classes for all age groups.
As you can see from the pictures, Al-bujeiri is a massive place, therefore, many festivals held there around the year. From these festivals is Ramadan and Eid festivals, there is sometimes concert that might hold there in the open air. The latest things held there was the formula festival and Ad-Dir’iyah season. none of these events were actually happened during my time there. So, I don’t think Ad-Dir’iyah is quite place any more as it was before.
If there is something Ad-Dir’iyah famous with, it would be farms. There are many farms in this area, this is due to the location near to the valley of Hanifah (Wadi Hanifah). It really adds a lot of scenery to this area which make it a pleasant place to walk, ride a bike along the valley. One of the farms there is doing some class about an organic plant for children, I’m not quite sure if they still do it.
You can tell from above that there are a variety of things you can do and see while you are in Ad-Dir’iyah whether it’s a festival season or not.
Ad-Dir’iyah has always been a remarkable sight in the Arabian Peninsula, not because it was the capital of the Saudi state, but because of the people of this area and the land itself. From fertile land that has many palm trees to historical places and very welcoming people, your experience going to be extraordinary and unforgettable.
That’s it for this post, I’ll leave you with some images.
