Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AROUND RIYADH
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Camel Market & Races
Riyadh's popular
camel market
(Souq al-Jamal; sunrise-sunset)
is one of the largest in the
Arabian Peninsula. Spread out north of the Dammam road 30km from the city centre (take
the Thumamah exit), this is a fascinating place to wander. Late afternoon is when the
traders really find their voices. If you want to put in a bid, you'll need a good SR5000 to
SR10,000.
At 4pm on some Thursdays, camel races take place at the camel race track along the ex-
tension of Al-Uroubah St in the Thumamah district, 10.5km from Riyadh.
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Dir'aiyah
The ancestral home of the Al-Saud family and the birthplace of the Saudi-Wahhabi union,
the historic site
Old Dir'aiyah
( 486 0274; 8am-4.30pm Sat-Thu, 4pm-5.30pm Fri winter, 8am-5.30pm
Sat-Thu, 4pm-5.30pm Fri summer)
makes a welcome escape from the frenzy of Riyadh.
This is one of the most evocative places in the Kingdom and its Unesco-supervised re-
construction saw it gain World Heritage status in 2010. The visitors centre is excellent,
with fantastic black-and-white photographs of the old town, and yet it is almost always
deserted; most of the town was abandoned during the 20th century. Note that parts of the
site are treacherous under foot.
