Al-Ajnab
الأجناب | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 24°37′54″N 46°42′52″E / 24.63167°N 46.71444°E | |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
City | Riyadh |
Region | Old Riyadh |
Language | |
• Official | Arabic |
Hillat al-Ajnab (Arabic: حلة الأجناب, lit. 'the foreigners' quarter') was a quarter and a douar within the city walls in the erstwhile fortress-city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,[1][2][3] located in the northeastern corner of the walled town.[4][5] It was situated east of Masmak Fortress, 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 (Arabic: الأَجانِب), 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,[6] such as John Philby and Muhammad Asad.[7][8]
The settlement shared close proximity with the Duhairah settlement from the east and al-Gadimah settlement[9][10] 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 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.