Hillat al-Ajnab () was a quarter and a douar within the
city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
in the erstwhile fortress-city of
Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, located in the northeastern corner of the
walled town. It was situated east of
Masmak Fort
The Masmak Fort ( ar, translit=Qaṣr al-Maṣmak, قصر المصمك), also called the Masmak Fortress or Masmak Palace, is a clay and mudbrick fort in ad-Dirah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Built in 1865 for prince 'Abdurrahman ibn Sulaiman AlDabaan ...
ress, at the entrance of
Bab al-Thumairi. The ruins of the settlement today include most of
Souq al-Suweigah in the
ad-Dirah neighborhood and its name was derived from ''al-ājānib'' (), the Arabic word for outsiders as most of its residents where foreigners who were given accommodation as guests or advisors of
King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, such as
John Philby and
Muhammad Asad.
The settlement shared close proximity with the
Duhairah settlement from the east and
al-Gadimah settlement
from the south and following the dismantling of the city walls and subsequent expansion and modernization of Riyadh in the 1970s, the settlement evolved into
Souq al-Suweigah and assumed most of its current form during the Qasr Al-Hukm District Development Project between 1983 and 1992.
The settlement once hosted a garage that belonged to the future monarch of Saudi Arabia,
Saud bin Abdulaziz Saud bin Abdulaziz may refer to:
* Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1748-1814) - Ruler of Diriyah Emirate (r.1803-1814)
*Saud of Saudi Arabia - King of Saudi Arabia (r.1953-1964) and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia (1953-1954; 1960-1962)
*Saud bin Abdulaz ...
and also hosted the residence of
Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman al-Saud, elder sister and adviser of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud and the eldest daughter of
Abdul Rahman bin Faisal al-Saud, the last emir of the
Second Saudi State.
References
{{Reflist
Former populated places in Saudi Arabia
Neighbourhoods in Riyadh
History of Riyadh