Riyadh

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. Known by local wags as the Dead Center of the Kingdom, Riyadh is the most straight-laced of the Kingdom's big cities. With most forms of entertainment banned, few sights of interest and a brutal climate, Riyadh is a business-only destination if there ever was one, but it's also the best place in the Kingdom to watch the continuing collision of tribal Wahhabi conservatism grappling with modern technology and Western influences.

Being a former trade centre on the pilgrim route across the Peninsula, Riyadh has been a midpoint of attention for centuries. After the young Abdulaziz gained control of Riyadh in 1902, it was from this base that he gradually established control over a vast area from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea. This area became, in 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nowadays, Riyadh is a bustling metropolis with state-of-the-art architecture and a modern city infrastructure.

Summer temperatures are very hot, reaching 50 degrees Celsius. The average high temperature in July is 45°C. Winters are mild with cold windy nights. The overall climate is arid, receiving very little rainfall. It is also known to have many dust storms. The dust is often so thick that visibility is under 10 meters.

Riyadh is very much a car-oriented city, and public transportation in Riyadh is badly underdeveloped. There are no street addresses as such in Riyadh, as mail is delivered to post office boxes, so getting around requires knowing landmarks near the place where you want to go.