Diriyah
Sign in to saveAlso known as Dariyya, Dereyeh
Diriyah (; formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of the House of Saud, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of Riyadh Province.
OverviewAI-generated
Diriyah is a city and human settlement located in Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. It has a population of 43,269 and covers an area of 29 square kilometers. The city sits at an elevation of 694 meters above sea level and operates in the UTC+03:00 time zone. Its official name is الدرعية.
Historically, Diriyah has served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah, the First Saudi State, and the Diriyah governorate. A significant event associated with the location is the Siege of Diriyah. The city is distinct from the Diriyah governorate.
Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Openweathermap, Open Meteo, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Weather now
7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- الدرعية
- Region
- منطقة الرياض
- Country
- السعودية
- Population
- 61,609
- Timezone
- Asia/Riyadh
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
- Settlement.name
- Diriyah
- Settlement.image_skyline
- At-Turaif District of Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.jpg
- Settlement.image_caption
- Salwa Palace of At-Turaif District
- Settlement.image_blank_emblem
- Diriyah Seal.svg
- Settlement.blank_emblem_type
- Wordmark
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Saudi Arabia
- Settlement.subdivision_type
- Country
- Settlement.subdivision_type1
- Province
- Settlement.subdivision_name1
- Riyadh Province
- Settlement.website
- Official Website
via Wikipedia infobox
Travel guide
Understand
thumb|Salwa Palace at sunset
Diriyah is the ancestral home of the Saud dynasty and served as their capital from 1727 until 1818, when what was then the Emirate of Diriyah was defeated by Ottoman forces. The inhabitants fled to what is today Riyadh, leaving their old mud-brick homes in ruins.
In the 2010s, the at-Turaif District comprising the ruins was named a , and the Saudi state commenced a large effort to restore the area and turn it into both a tourist attraction and the self-proclaimed "Beverly Hills of Riyadh".
Get in
Diriyah is about 15 km away from KAFD in northern Riyadh. There is no public transport, so you'll need to drive or catch a taxi/Uber/Careem.
Access to the historical district at At-Turaif or Bujairi Terrace requires a Diriyah Access Pass. Pricing is dynamic: as of 2024, entry is free until 5 PM but costs 50 riyals afterwards. The cost of the pass can be redeemed as credit when dining at any restaurant in the area.
Buy
The Diriyah Square shopping mall, under construction as of 2025, will house 400 shops.
Eat
Bujairi Terrace hosts 20 restaurants and cafes. Access requires either a Diriyah Access Pass or a confirmed reservation.
Sleep
32 hotels, including not one but two by the ultra-luxe Aman group, are in various stages of construction in and around Diriyah.
Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
14 sectionsContents
- Location
- History
- During Muhammad's era
- Post 1400
- Renovations and development plans
- Main historic sites
- Other notable buildings
- Museums
- Public facilities and centres
- Climate
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
Diriyah (; formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of the House of Saud, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of Riyadh Province.
At-Turaif District, the first capital of Saudis in Diriyah, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The layout of the city itself can be studied in the National Museum of Saudi Arabia with the help of a large-scale detailed model of the city on display there. Diriyah also hosted the Diriyah ePrix race for the Formula E championship from 2018–2024.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Diriyah” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
Gallery (18)
On the map
3 mapped locations