RIYADH, a city of the Nejd (q.v.) in the heart of Arabia with a population of from io,000 to 20,000. It is the capital of the region and the headquarters from which Ibn Saud (q.v.) rules over most of Desert Arabia.
The city is situated on an oasis in a hollow of the great plateau and is surrounded on all sides, except the north-east, by palm groves. The actual site is on limestone rock, forming a well marked mound on the crest of which is the royal palace. The settlement is encircled by a thick wall some 25 ft. high, pierced by many gates. The Thamairi gate on the east is the entry from the desert tracks to the north and east and south, while the Dhuhairi gate gives access to the north-western route to Washm and the roads to Mecca. Other gates lead to roads or desert track ways making for the south or south-west. Riyadh is thus a great desert focus.
Within the walls irregular streets converge upon a central square. In the open space north of the royal palace is the market
place. The great Mosque of Jamieda is a rectangular building some 6o yards by 5o yards. Architecturally it reflects the severity of the puritan Wahhabi. Besides the great Mosques there are be tween 15 and 20 smaller ones. To the north of the main thor oughfare, about half way between the palace and the Thamairi gate, is the great fort built in the form of a square, but it is the royal palace of Ibn Saud that commands the whole city, and in its simplicity represents "all that is best in modern Arabian architecture." The water supply of the city is obtained from numerous wells among the palm groves without the city, and beneath the shades of these groves there tend to grow up suburban residential quar ters.
See H. St. J. B. Philby, The Heart of Arabia, vol. i.