The King Abdulaziz Historical Center (KAHC) () is a translocational compound that includes prominent cultural and heritage landmarks in the al-Murabba and al-Futah neighborhoods of

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, encompassing the al-Murabba Palace, the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA) (), better known as Darah, is a cultural institution in the Al Murabba, al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in middle of the Murabba Palace compound and the National ...

, King Abdulaziz Public Library, King Abdulaziz Auditorium, Red Palace and Riyadh Water Tower besides six

municipal parks An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

and gardens, including the

National Museum Park The National Museum Park () is an umbrella term used for the agglomeration of 5 out of 8 municipal parks and gardens in the al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, namely al-Haras, al-Soor, al-Wadi, al-Jisr and al-Madi that adjoin the ...

, al-Watan Park, the One Hundred Palm Trees Park and al-Yamamah Park. It was inaugurated in January 1999 by

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...

to mark the centenary year of the

Emirate of Riyadh The Emirate of Riyadh Madawi Al-Rasheed. ''A History of Saudi Arabia''. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. 40. was the first iteration of the Third Saudi State from 1902 to 1913. J. A. Hammerton. ''Peoples Of All Natio ...

, the first iteration of modern

. It is not the "historic centre" of the city as this lies to the south around

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 ...

and the main Friday Mosque in the Dira district. The origin of the ''King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre'' is the former compound of the Murabba' Palace, which was built in 1936/37 by

King Abdul Aziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...

about 1.5 km to the north of the old city and well outside the then still existing city walls. After 1953, the palace compound ceased to be used as the main royal residence and slowly fell into disuse. The "Murabba' Development Project" was later started to make use of the area for projects involved with the ''Centennial Celebrations'' in 1999. As such the area was chosen to be the site of several cultural institutions focusing on the national history in general and the history of the current Saudi State and its founder in detail. Consequently, what had remained of the old palace compound buildings was restored or remodelled on plans similar to the original buildings. The surrounding area was made into a landscape of parks and plazas and new buildings were built such as the

National Museum of Saudi Arabia The National Museum of Saudi Arabia () is a national museum located in the al-Murabba neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999,Diwan renovated as a "

living museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recr ...

", the "Memorial Hall" on the outlines of an old courtyard house, a modern exhibition hall for the car collection, on the footprints of the old majlis and assembly hall the new Al-Dara main lobby and multipurpose hall, a documentation centre with a separated men's and women's library each, an art gallery and a large internal garden. On the east side the new ''National Museum of Saudi Arabia'' was built together with the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives. To the south, the area around the old water tower has been remodelled and now includes a small theme park. The whole project is said to have cost some 680 million Saudi riyals (about 181.33 million U.S. dollars at the time) and covers an area of some 360,000 square meters (3,000,000 sq ft).

References

{{Reflist Geography of Riyadh History of Riyadh Tourist attractions in Riyadh Museum districts