Riyadh – Saudi Arabia
Date orchards flourished profusely in the oasis which was the original Riyadh. Ibn Saud decided this would be an ideal location for the principal city of his kingdom in 1902 and began building a city which, over thirty years, grew to its present proportions. Riyadh is the capital city of Saudi Arabia, a wealthy city of commerce, with skyscrapers and modern office blocks covering an area of 1,600 sqkm. Riyadh is located right in the centre of the Saudi Arabia peninsula. Riyadh, whose name means ‘a place of gardens’ is a modern city, the Queen of the Desert, delightfully full of history and the most beautiful architecture but wit sufficient culture to suit everybody’s tastes.
Temperatures in Riyadh can swing dramatically from blistering heat to below freezing during the course of a single day, with hot winds in the summer causing temperatures to often exceed 45o C. Evening thunderstorms occur frequently. These alleviate the worst heat, bringing summer temperatures in late evening to more acceptable warmth. For visitors to Riyadh, October to April is probably the best time to visit when it is more temperate and pleasantly warm. Modern Riyadh, however, does not go short of water. The modern Riyadh obtains its water supplies from a series of enormous dams fed by seawater which has been treated in desalination plants and piped in from the coast.
Riyadh is truly eclectic and will provide hours of diversions for even the most discerning tourists. Shopping in Riyadh are second to none, especially retail outlets such as the extravagant Kingdom Centre with its 160+ shopping outlets covering its three levels with all the best known names in the retail world and many designer fashion brands available. You become aware of being in an Islamic country when you realise that all retail outlets, no matter how large and important, are closed for business during Islamic prayer times. A tourist needs to be careful about dress code, dressing with decorum and avoiding causing offence, even in terms of symbolic jewellery and approaching a woman in public. You realise how much Islam impacts on everyday life when you find that many shopping malls refuse access to single people on Thursdays and Fridays – couples and families only have access.
Saudi Arabian oil sponsored the phenomenal growth of this city, its revenue providing Riyadh citizens with an excellent standard of living, wide boulevards and highways and an overwhelming feeling of space and comfort. Riyadh is truly enchanting, full of glamour and opulence, exquisite beauty and a charm all of its own. Apart from its culture, Riyadh has enough retail outlets to keep even the most persistent shopaholic entranced for the whole of their stay. Within this ultramodern Riyadh is a miscellany of Saudi Arabian past, old mosques and date palms sharing space with camels and the prevailing Islamic culture retaining a code of morality and confines which would seem questionable elsewhere. Limitations and restrictions continue to exist, with precincts from which women are still forbidden to attend. Visitors to Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia generally, need to treat these cultural restrictions with respect and be aware that offence could inadvertently be caused if the visitor is unaware of the local customs.
