Al-Murabba () is a historic neighborhood in central

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 ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, located west of al-Wazarat and north of al-Futah in the sub-municipality of al-Malaz. Its name reportedly comes from a broken square-shaped

dry well A dry well or soak is a structure formed underground that disposes of unwanted water, such as surface runoff water and stormwater. In this process, the water is infiltrated into the ground, further merging with groundwater in the local area. Th ...

around which the

Murabba Palace Murabba Palace (Arabic: قصر المربّع Qaṣr al Murabbaʿ; literally the 'Square Palace') is a historic palace in the al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. One of the first bu ...

was built and from where latter's name gets derived as well. It is situated in close proximity to the al-Batʼha commercial area and the Qasr al-Hukm District. Al-Murabba has lent its name to the New Murabba project, a planned downtown and real estate development in northwestern

. The neighborhood hosts a large presence of overseas

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

community.

History

After the

unification of Saudi Arabia The unification of Saudi Arabia was a military and political campaign in which the various tribes, sheikhdoms, city-states, emirates, and Monarchy, kingdoms of most of the central Arabian Peninsula were conquered by the House of Saud, or ''Al ...

King Abdulaziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

ordered building of palaces outside the former city walls of

Old Riyadh Old Riyadh () is an umbrella term used for a loosely defined region that primarily lies in the southern portion of modern-day Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, encompassing neighborhoods and settlements that emerged from the ruins of Hajr al-Yamamah in late ...

, marking one of the preludes for the subsequent expansions of

. One of the places he chose was in the Murabba neighborhood in 1937 to build the

. According to Saudi historian Mansour al-Assaf, there was a square-shaped

in the neighborhood, from which the area derives its name 'al-Murabba' (lit. the square). In 1969, the Riyadh Water Tower was inaugurated in the neighborhood. In 1999, the

King Abdulaziz Historical Center King Abdulaziz Historical Center (KAHC) () is a cross-district heritage complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, covering south of Al Murabba, al-Murabba and north of Al Fouta, al-Futah. Inaugurated in 1999, it includes several historic buildings and ope ...

which contained the Abdulaziz's former Murabba Palace and the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

was inaugurated by

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...

to commemorate the 100th anniversary (in terms of Hijri calendar) of Abdulaziz's capturing of Riyadh in 1902.

Legacy

In February 2023, crown prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

announced a new downtown project in northwest of

, known as the New Murabba, named after the neighborhood. He also unveiled the project of Mukaab, a cuboidal skyscraper located in the New Murabba and is modeled after the cuboidal layout of the

Gallery

File:Al Murabba, Riyadh Saudi Arabia - panoramio.jpg, A walkway along the road crossing the historical center File:Palm Oasis Murabba Riyadh.jpg, The One Hundred Palm Trees Park in Al Murabba File:1قصر المربع.jpg, Inside Al Murabba Fort File:قصر المربع.jpg, The Murabba Fort building File:Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace, 2023.jpg, Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace, 2023

References

{{Reflist Neighbourhoods in Riyadh

History

Legacy

Gallery

See also

References