Riyadh is Saudi Arabia’s capital and largest city. It is sprawly and modern and you’ll need a car or a cab to get around. There is plenty of iconic architecture, including the UFO-style Ministry of the Interior building, and something that looks like a large vegetable peeler that has also arrived from another galaxy:
If you happen to go there is a neat fort downtown and the national museum at the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. The Masmak Fort, dating from 1865, is notable as the Al-Saud clan conquered it in 1902, and then started the formation of the country as a single entity. They have some good historical information and photos of the fort when it was mostly surrounded by sand and scrub. If you go anytime around summer, there are stiff hairdryer-like winds even in the evening, so stay hydrated.
You can go for a wander around the migrant neighborhoods, which tend to be lively and have a good market atmosphere. In this case I stumbled across an Indian/Bangladeshi area in the Al Futah neighborhood just northeast of the fort.
Bangladesh has a large migrant community in Saudi Arabia and so there are plenty of flights to Dhaka should you need them.
The usual Saudi travel rules apply – see notes from a trip to Jeddah are at: https://wp.me/p7Jh3P-vr
