At-Turaif District

At-Turaif District sits on a bluff above Wadi Hanifah in Diriyah, on the north-western edge of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It served as the capital of the first Saudi state from 1727, when Imam Muhammad bin Saud established his rule, until 1818, when Ottoman-Egyptian forces under Ibrahim Pasha besieged and destroyed the town. The settlement was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 and is regarded as the largest surviving example of Najdi mud-brick architecture on the Arabian Peninsula. The remains cover a compound of palaces, mosques, bathhouses, a fortified wall with watchtowers, and residential quarters. Buildings were constructed from sun-dried mud brick, palm trunks and tamarisk beams, with thick walls, small openings and triangular decorative windows that are characteristic of the Najd region. Among the principal structures are Salwa Palace, the seat of the ruling family, the Imam Mohammed bin Saud Mosque, the Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Mosque, and the Turaif Bath. Several of the palaces have been restored and opened as museums, including the Salwa Palace exhibition on the first Saudi state and a museum devoted to the history of the Najdi city. Visitors follow a largely chronological narrative that moves from the founding of Diriyah through the rise and fall of the first state. Because the site was abandoned after 1818, the ruins were left to erode for much of the following two centuries. Conservation work began in the late twentieth century and was expanded under the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, with mud-brick walls rebuilt using traditional methods and materials alongside modern stabilisation. Walkways and shaded areas now guide visitors through the district, and signage and displays are provided in Arabic and English. The nearby Bujairi Quarter, across the valley, adds restaurants and viewpoints facing the illuminated ruins at night. The ticketed area is compact enough to explore on foot, though summer heat means most visitors favour the evening.