I am fortunate to have traveled to many cities in the world. From Manila to Chicago, from Paris to Dubai, from Singapore to Cairo. Places that are my anchor, for the stories I tell. Stories that, in turn, lend meaning to these places. Not only mine, but also those of friends. our journeys, our journals.
I told Sultan about our visit to Dir’iyyah, especially the view of an oasis from a high plains overlook and its lush green, amidst the earth tones of the surrounding desert. He said, Riyadh has many oases. In fact the name means “oases” (plural).
It is the first capital of Saudi Arabia: the town of Najad arose from the sands three centuries ago.
It fell to the Ottoman Empire's grip after Ibrahim Basha besieged the town with the marching Turkish army. For this, he was awarded Mecca and all that it stands as a prize for sacking al- Diriyah.
"After the collapse of the state, Al-Diriyah was neglected and its residents abandoned it. They then lived in a primitive manner until the 1950s," said Emir Sultan Bin Selman.
Al-Diriyah fell and rose from the sands three times, and here it is rising again for the fourth time. But this time it is a different rebirth. It is the revival of history not by rewriting its chronicles, but by introducing history as a genuine part of the present.
"It is not about restoration, it is a about the human being," said the Emir.
Al-Diriyah was built from mud and thatch and weaved the historical events that changed the face of the region. The Muhammad Bin Saud Palace emerged at the hands of the master builder, Al Najdi Bin Hazeem.
"This palace is considered to be one of the military fortresses of al-Diriyah because it was called the compartment of Omar Bin Saud.
The fortress is built on a stone base, which made it resilient to the enemy's attacks during the war," said Dr. Al Maghnem.
Building a town in an empty space is an easy task compared to building a city on the ashes of clashing swords, loud calls to prayer, and the cries of horses.
This is why rebuilding al-Diriyah was not an easy task, taking into consideration the incidents where wisdom mingled with blood and poetry with struggling bodies that collapsed to the ground.
Al- Diriyah is part of an entity and is not only a set of buildings and filming sites.
The story of these entities has not been told yet.
It is the first real union in the Arab world because it was founded on diversified principles and cultures.
