Al Murabba Palace, the former home and court of King Abdul Aziz, founder of modern Saudi Arabia, and a monument to the city’s captivating past.
Constructed outside the walls of the old city of Riyadh, on what had previously been used as farmland during the winter months, Murabba Palace marked the first major expansion of the city as the country teetered on the brink of a new era of prosperity. The palace, where the King lived from its completion in 1938 until his death in 1953, was built in the traditional Najdean style, with vast palm frond layered walls and ceilings and rooms arranged around a breezy central courtyard.