Riyadh (in Arabic Ar-Riyaá) is the capital of Saudi Arabia, located slightly east of the center of the country in the heart of the Tuwaiq escarpment.Riyadh is considered the most straight-laced of the Kingdom’s big three cities. With most forms of entertainment banned, few sights of interest and a brutal climate, Riyadh is mostly a business destination. Although everyone adheres to the dress code thawb for men and abaya for women, you might come across many Saudis in Westernized clothing. English is spoken by most Saudis (most in Riyadh speak it well) as well as most foreigners.Until the 16th century, Riyadh (or, more accurately, Ar-Riyadh) was known by the name Hajr, an important city of central Arabia dating from at least the 3rd century AD (and probably older). In the Middle Ages, Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al-Yamamah, whose viceroys presided over most of central and eastern Arabia.With the decline in the fortunes and wealth of central Arabia after the 10th century, the name Al-Yamama gradually disappeared, and Hajr became subsumed under the name “Najd,” which had previously referred only to areas lying further west. The name Hajr also gave way to the name “Ar-Riyadh” (meaning “the gardens”), as the old city broke into several towns and farming estates.Only a hundred years ago, Riyadh was a dusty walled town of under 20,000 people surrounded by palm groves, fertile wadis, and a number of small villages. Riyadh (or, rather, the neighboring hamlet of Diriyah) is the ancestral home of the al-Sauds. Driven out by the Rashids in 1891, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud famously raided and recaptured the city in 1902. The city was made the capital of Saudi Arabia when the country was born in 1932, and has grown explosively ever since then as of 2008, the city is estimated to have some 5,000,000 inhabitants, and is still growing fast.Riyadh is vast and sprawling. The main roads are King Fahd Rd (·…  tariq al-malek al-Fahd), which runs north to south across the city, and Makkah Rd (aka Khurais Rd), which runs west to east, intersecting at Cairo Square which is actually just a cloverleaf interchange.The modern business districts of Olaya (, pron. Oleyah) and Suleimaniyah, containing most offices and better hotels, are to the north of Makkah Rd. Here Riyadh’s two skyscrapers serve as handy orientation points: Faisaliah Tower (the pointy one) is towards the southern end of Olaya, while Kingdom Centre (the bottle opener) is at the northern end. Both are located between King Fahd Rd and the parallel thoroughfare of Olaya Rd, which is Riyadh’s main upscale shopping strip.The historical core of Riyadh is to the south of Makkah Rd. The district of al-Murabba hosts the sprawling grounds of the King Abdul Aziz Historical Park, home to the National Museum and the Murabba Palace, while a kilometer to the south is the dense warren of al-Bathaa, host to the city’s cheapest food, lodging and shopping and the hub of the minibus network. Further south yet is Deira, centered on as-Sa’ah Square, which has souqs (traditional markets), the Masmak Fortress, the Governor’s offices and, more morbidly, the execution grounds.Located in the middle of the country, Riyadh suffers from the worst of Saudi Arabia’s climatic extremes. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 45C, while winter temperatures can fall to just above zero. It’s bone dry throughout the year, and when the wind blows the city is often covered in a haze of sand. However, while summers are blazing hot, they are not humid, which goes some way to alleviate the pain. Summer evenings are generally tolerable and one even encounters the occasional cool breeze, especially on the outskirts of town.Beware that in the last few years, the climate has been shifting in this part of the world as well. Temperatures near 50C are usually only reached end of July and in August. In 2009, the temperature in Riyadh hit 48C mid-June. Especially if you wear a business suit, it is imperative to stay out of the sun.Riyadh’s King Khaled Airport (IATA: RUH) is located about 35 km north of the city. A large, architecturally striking structure in white and desert brown, hypermodern when opened in 1983, it has aged reasonably well but remains a famously boring place to get stuck in. However FRAPort, the owner of Germany’s Frankfurt airport, has recently started to manage KKIA and is slowly improving things. Fairly spacious shopping areas can now be found in terminals 1 and 2, there is a choice of coffee and snack shops, and new light and spacious, if a little warm, Lounges have been opened for Business and First Classes on the right side upper level of terminal 1 (by Gates 17/18) where the old viewing area was. Please note that some airlines are not partnered with the Lounge and there is a charge of SAR160 (Business) or SAR210 (First) for those airlines’ passengers to use the Lounges. The business class lounge offers free wi-fi, hot and cold buffet, and hot and cold drinks (and probably cleaner toilets!)There are three terminals in use, with Terminal 1 used by international carriers, Terminal 2 for Saudi Arabian Airlines international flights, and Terminal 3 for all domestic flights. The terminals are right next to each other and are connected at the arrivals level, so transfers involve lugging your stuff for a few hundred meters or, more sensibly, hiring a porter to do the job. It is also possible to walk between terminals 1 and 2 once air-side.Aside from Saudia, direct connections from outside the Gulf and South Asia are surprisingly limited, but options includes Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich, British Airways from London-Heathrow, Air France/Saudi (code and operator share) from Paris, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul-Ataturk and Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong. The most international popular route, though, is via Dubai, from where there are at least half a dozen flights daily. Domestically, Riyadh is one of the main hubs and there are flights to every corner of the Kingdom, including near-hourly departures to Jeddah.Unlike Jeddah, immigration and customs clearance at Riyadh is usually fairly straightforward (unless the computer system is down). Beware that standing in the wrong line for immigration may work out fine for you, or you may be catapulted back to the end of a different line when you hit the front position (making all that waiting worthless). The row for “Exit / Entry Visas” is only for resident expats that have left the country temporarily, to visit family for example

Airport: RUH King Khaled International Airport Cities in Saudi Arabia

Country: Saudi Arabia