Salam Park () is a 61-acre historic

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

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 ...

, located southwest of Qasr al-Hukm District. Opened in 2004, it was built on the site of an eponymous

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

orchard that belonged to Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman. The park is popular for its 3.3 hectares large

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

and 1-kilometer long pedestrian track. It was jointly designed by

Omrania and Associates Omrania and Associates (), also known as Omrania, is an international architectural, engineering, and urban planning firm based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1973, it specializes in the design of contextual and high-performance design proje ...

and Aukett Fitzroy Robinson. The Salam Mosque, one of the oldest and earliest reinforced concrete mosques of Riyadh, is situated at the center of the park.

Overview

In the 1990s, the

Royal Commission for Riyadh City The Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) (), formerly The Arriyadh Development Authority (ARA) and The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh, is a royal commission established in 1974 during the reign of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz wh ...

acquired the date palm orchard, known as Salam, that belonged to Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman. The park was inaugurated in 2004 by

Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; born 31 December 1935) has been King of Saudi Arabia since 2015, and was Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He assumed the thron ...

, who supervised the project and is today considered among the most popular places for recreation in the country's capital. The park is divided into four sections, the Palm Grove, the Lake, the Hillside Zone and the Ecological Zone with the areas being accessible through the park's three main entrances; al-Marsa Gate, al-Bahirah Gate and al-Sahah Gate.

References

{{reflist Parks in Riyadh 2004 establishments in Saudi Arabia Buildings and structures completed in 2004 Parks established in the 2000s Protected areas established in 2004