Saudi Arabia's Desert Capital: Diriyah UNESCO, Edge of the World & Vision 2030
📍 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia📅 3-day itinerary
A mud-brick oasis town of 30,000 that became an 8-million metropolis in 75 years of oil wealth — where the 1744 Wahhabi-Saudi compact was born in mud-brick Diriyah (now UNESCO Heritage), Ibn Saud recaptured the city with 40 men in 1902 (the spear tip still in the gate), and a cliff edge 75 km northwest drops 300 metres over an empty desert horizon.
The UNESCO Mud-Brick Palace Where the Saudi State Was Born in 1744, a Fortress Where a Spear Tip From the 1902 City Raid Is Still in the Gate & Camel-Meat Kabsa Rice
A Skyscraper with a Bridge Suspended in a 100-Metre Gap Between Its Own Two Arms & A 300-Metre Cliff Edge Over a Desert Horizon Stretching 30 km
Red Sand Dunes from Iron Oxide Where 4WD Dune-Bashing Ends at a Bedouin Camp & Saudi Hospitality's Three Cups of Cardamom Coffee with Caramel-Sweet Sukkari Dates