Historical Diriyyah & Edge of the World Excursion

Diriyyah
The old city of Diriyyah is located about 20km from the main city center of Riyadh. It is one of the most important archaeological sites from where the history of Saudi Dynasty begins. It is situated in the eastern part of the so-called Najd area in the valley known as Wadi Hanifa. The meaning of Najid is the high plateau, which forms the central part of Saudi Arabia. It is recorded by the chronicles that one of the person known as Ibn Dir, who was also the chief of al-Dir clan of Duru, which was belonging to Bani Hanifa tribe, was ruling this area. He had a vast fertile land in the valley, which he was not able to utilize completely due to lack of thin population of his clan. Therefore, he invited another clan of the same Banu Hanifa tribe to settle down on the fertile area of the Hanifa valley. Therefore, the clan named Murdah comes under the leadership of Mani al-Muraydi in 1446 A.D in Wadi Hanifa. IbnDir gave land for the cultivation to the clan in the Wadi Hanifa and the clan settled down. They were the ancestors of the Al-Saud family who established their first rule at Diriyyah.

Edge of the World
The Edge of the World is an exciting excursion ex-Riyadh. This usually starts in afternoon with drive on old Makkah Road. One way drive is approx. 150 Kms from Riyadh to the Edge of the World both on paved road and gravel access to the site. Drive on gravel track is really exciting. Enthusiasts like to enjoy a soft hike on the rocks of the Edge of the World. However, should be very careful during hike on gravel. Sunset view at this point is always very interesting. We shall drive back to Riyadh after sunset.