King Abdulaziz Historical Center

The King Abdulaziz Historical Center (KAHC) is a three million square feet facility in the Saudi capital city that preserves the Kingdom's past, shares primitive stories and connects people with history in meaningful ways, for today and for tomorrow. The KAHC plays an important role in the nation's historic preservation by holding educational events, regular exhibitions and heritage celebrations. It also houses the rich national museum, a must-see for all who visit Riyadh.
The KAHC centered on Al-Murabba Palace is located in a zone of great historical and political importance. In fact, the KAHC was conceived as a national landmark to reflect the standing of the modern Saudi nation. The center aims to chronicle the history of the Arabian Peninsula, especially that of Saudi Arabia. It recounts the foundation of the Kingdom and records the great efforts involved in the march towards unity and stability.
The building housing the KAHC, known as the “Darat” in Arabic, is another example of how the architectural character of the area has been preserved. The whole historical complex can be sub-divided into several areas. The center’s main square, plazas and other open spaces have been designed very much with community use in mind. They are ideal for celebrations, festivals, and official activities as well as for family get-togethers.
The public parks and gardens with their graceful trees provide a relaxing atmosphere where people can unwind and enjoy themselves in leisure. Eating-places and small kiosks scattered throughout the gardens enable families and individuals to enjoy their food and socialize with family and friends. In fact, the sprawling public parks that shelters the Center lies at the heart of Riyadh, and forms an important part of the fabric of life in the capital.
About 50 kilometers from the King Khalid International Airport, the KAHC is in the vicinity of Batha District in Riyadh. Batha District is famous for its shopping centers, street vendors and a huge cosmopolitan population that flock to the area every now and then. One can see and experience hundreds of Saudi shoppers and expatriate workers especially during the weekends in Batha. Some of them walk to the KAHC to take a sunbath during winter or to relax under the trees during summer.
On the north side of the facility is an ancient mud well of traditional design which has been carefully restored. Water pumped from this well flows into small streams across the central garden that lies between the national museum and the central part of the facility. The stream runs into a sunken area with a waterfall and pool, especially designed to attract and amuse children with its miniature rocky landscaping and bridges, rope ferry and water pump features.
Just south of the Al-Murabba Palace, there is the old and famous King Abdulaziz Mosque. The mosque was linked to the palace with a covered walkway, which was used by the king to walk to the mosque to perform prayers. The mosque was restored and rebuilt in modern style in the early 1960s. The mosque’s main prayer hall and outer prayer areas can now accommodate more than 5,000 worshippers, including women in a separate hall.
The main attraction of the KAHC is the national museum, which has eight main galleries featuring literature and objects of ancient Arabia. They display works and words from the days of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the times of the first Saudi state, unification, and Hajj. The museum is in fact an up-to-date reference source for the history of the peninsula. Darat Al-Malik Abdulaziz, adjacent to the museum, houses a section for the journal of the Darat, the King Abdulaziz Memorial Hall and also the personal library of late King Abdulaziz.
The Darat, known as the King Abdulaziz Center for Information and Research, is a must visit for tourists and especially for those who want to know Saudi history. The King Abdulaziz Center has thousands of rare documents about the Kingdom, including over 15,000 documents in German and about 30,000 in French. There are more than 70,000 American documents collected from the National Archives in Washington, US presidential libraries, and other scholarly sources in the US. The Center also holds major collections of photocopies of documents from British, Dutch, and Italian archives.
The Center has brought together around 1,6000 manuscripts (both original and photocopied) relating to the history of the Kingdom. The private possessions of late King Abdulaziz are also on display at Darat. Visitors to the Darat can view some of the late King Abdulaziz’s personal possessions like his clothes, white thoub of cotton, and his full ceremonial headdress. The walking stick of the late king beside his prayer beads and his swords are also on display in Darat.
One can see a number of other personal belongings of King Abdulaziz. In fact, King Abdulaziz had a very keen interest in science and knowledge. The result was a very rich collection in his personal library, which was on the ground floor of Al-Murabba Palace. Today, there are only 1,500 books, some of which were printed at the expense of King Abdulaziz in India, Egypt, Syria, and Makkah. Among the most famous of the remaining books is “Al-Mughni” by Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Qudama, who died in 1223.
The area where the KAHC is located is also rich in remnants of history and heritage of Saudi Arabia. A huge water tower beside the KAHC, a massive building called Queens Building a few steps away from the center, and the governorate building further, are a few landmarks that fall within a short radius of the KAHC. In fact, the KAHC has been designed to be the heart of the Kingdom’s cultural and historical life.