Diriyah
Also 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.
Weather now
cached 10h ago35°clear sky
10% 0.8 m/s OpenWeatherMap
7-day forecast
via Open-Meteo
Place details
- Locality
- الدرعية
- Region
- منطقة الرياض
- Country
- السعودية
- Population
- 61,609
- Timezone
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
Article
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.
Gallery (18)
On the map
3 mapped locations
Connections
Categories
1440s in the Middle East1446 establishments in AsiaArabic architectureCities in Saudi ArabiaDiriyahGeography of RiyadhHistory of NajdOttoman ArabiaPopulated places established in the 1440sPopulated places in Riyadh ProvinceRazed citiesTourist attractions in RiyadhWorld Heritage Sites in Saudi Arabia