Historic Diriyah Fort
Mud-brick citadel ruins above a desert valley, birthplace and first capital of the Saudi state.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Historic Diriyah Fort, in the At-Turaif district on the edge of Riyadh, starts with the numbers nobody can agree on: how many men marched on this hilltop in eighteen eighteen, and how long they stayed. It reaches back to a bargain struck here in seventeen forty-four between a local ruler and a religious scholar, and to the mud-brick capital that grew from it. You will meet Ibrahim Pasha, the commander outside the walls, and Abdullah bin Saud, the imam inside them. Best heard on the high ground looking down into Wadi Hanifa.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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