At-Turaif, Diriyah

About this place

The capital of the first Saudi state — a complete mud-brick city on the edge of Wadi Hanifah, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2010. Arabia was governed from here between 1744 and 1818, until an Ottoman-Egyptian expedition besieged Diriyah, destroyed it and moved the capital to Riyadh. What stands today is a broad and careful restoration of what survived that siege. The style is pure Najdi: mud, clay brick and tamarisk trunks, thick walls, triangular crenellations along the roofs and triangular vents cut through the walls. No imported ornament and no stone — everything comes from the wadi itself. Its principal building is Salwa Palace, the multi-storeyed royal complex and the largest thing in the quarter. Around it stand the mosque of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud, the houses of the ruling family, and small museums distributed through the restored buildings. The development around it is extensive: Bujairi Terrace on the far side of the wadi holds restaurants, cafés and open ground, and it is where people sit in the evening with the quarter floodlit in front of them — that view at night is Diriyah's most famous image. Two hours for the quarter alone and more with the museums; it lies about half an hour by car from central Riyadh. The best hours are from late afternoon into the evening: the heat eases and the light improves.