Al-Batʼha (), also simply romanized as Batha, is a colloquial umbrella term used for the partial agglomeration of six neighborhoods in downtown

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, that are primarily situated along the al-Batʼha Street on the either edge of the now-dried up stream of

Wadi al-Batʼha Wadi al-Batʼha (), historically known as Wadi al-Wutar (), is an ancient wadi, river valley under rehabilitation in the Najd region of Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. The valley once descended from Shiʿb Abu Rufia, and traversed from northwest to ...

, located between al-Murabba and the Qasr al-Hukm District. It is one of the oldest commercial districts in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and the financial nerve center of the city's downtown area, covering east of al-Futah and al-Dirah whereas west of al-Amal, Margab, Thulaim and to some extent, al-Oud. It emerged in the 1940s as Hillat al-Kuwaitiyyah () during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when a number of Kuwaiti merchants and traders chose to set up an auction market just outside the northeastern fringes of the erstwhile

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. Besides being a open-air marketplace that hosts a number of large and medium-scale trading centers, the surrounding locality has been the heart of the city's Bangladeshi community since the oil boom of the 1970s, alongside

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and

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, who altogether contribute in almost 70% of the economic activity in the area. Traditional Kuwaiti goods accounted for majority of Batha's imports during the early days of its emergence , however, products from various countries like the

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and

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soon began increasing the diversity of Batha's trading centers. Public transport services were introduced In the area in the 1960s. 1977, the

Riyadh Municipality Riyadh Municipality (RM) (), officially the Riyadh Region Municipality or the Municipality of Riyadh, is a municipal body which has jurisdiction upon overall city services and the upkeep of facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh Gove ...

created the al-Batha Sub-Municipality, one of the 16 sub-municipalities of

, that also includes two of five neighborhoods that constitute the Batha area, namely ad-Dirah and Margab.

Gallery

File:Al Batha Riyadh, 1983.jpg, Al Batha Street, 1983 File:Al Amal, Riyadh Saudi Arabia - panoramio.jpg, Bat’ha Street, 2014

References

{{Reflist Batʼha