At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah World Heritage Site

Official name

At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah | UNESCO

Country

Saudi Arabia | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

24.7341° Lat, 46.5724° Lon | Map

Code

1329

Time Zone

Asia/Riyadh (+03, +0300)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2010. This property was the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, north-west of Riyadh. Founded in the 15th century, it bears witness to the Najdi architectural style, which is specific to the centre of the Arabian peninsula. In the 18th and early 19th century, its political and religious role increased, and the citadel at at-Turaif became the centre of the temporal power of the House of Saud and the spread of the S alafiyya reform inside the Muslim religion. The property includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.