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Khalid suggested that we visit Ad Diriyyah, located to the north of Riyadh. The old town was the capital of the First Saudi State, was partially destroyed by the Turks in 1233 AH and is now undergoing restoration. Khalid grew up in the new town and his family still owns farms in the area. We saw Diriyyah in the late afternoon, just as the sun was setting - the call to prayer washing over the buildings and the rising full moon gave the town a wonderfully eerie feel. Many of the palaces have been restored while other buildings are propped up with wooden joists to slow their deterioration. |
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The following day Khalid took us to the King Abdul Aziz Arabian Horse Centre at Dirab. I had assumed we would be shown around the stables - how wrong could I be! We sat on a viewing platform overlooking an outdoor school and a selection of horses were paraded in front of us while we were given a running commentary - these were amongst the finest Arabian horses I have seen and included a very unusual Desert Arabian which is close to the traditional Arabian horses that would have been used in battle. |
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Khalid also arranged a visit to the Faisalia Tower globe (actually a restaurant) - I was doing so well until a door was opened and I realised we were going out onto the walkway running around the tower, just below the globe. Ah! Yes, I know I would have to try pretty hard to fall over the solid looking wall surrounding the walkway, and the tower was unlikely to collapse just because I was at the top. But I only managed to inch my way around one third of the tower before scuttling back inside, much to Khalid and Richard's amusement. |
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