Royal Nasiriyah Palace, Part I - Sept. 1960

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    This was the "modern" royal palace of the time.  It apparently had several phonetic spellings, including "Al Nasiriyah" & "Nassariya." It was also called "King Saud Palace."  Searching now on the Internet much can be found about other Saudi palaces (especially the rebuilding & preservation of the old "mud citadel" called the Musmak palace or fortress in central Riyadh) , but I have yet to find clear current details on the massive palace grounds we visited in the fall of 1960.  This was the reported main palace of the then king of the country, HM King Sa'ud ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd al'Rahman al Faisal Al Sa'ud.  We called him King Saud.  The palace grounds were at least 1 mile square and surrounded by high pinkish block walls.  It was located to the west or northwest of the city in what was then the outskirts of Riyadh.  (Remember that the population of Riyadh in 1960 was about 150,000, but has since grown to several million!)

    Captions below are minimal as memory has faded regarding specific locations.  It seemed like the central palace complex was located far inside the outer walls and contained many different buildings, gardens, walkways and fountains.  Most pictures in this 2 part series (see Part II) are presented in the sequence that they were taken.  Aerial views of this complex can be seen in the "King's Plane Flight" album.

Outside the palace grounds the surrounding wall can be seen.

The main entrance to the huge palace grounds.

Actually this photo was taken when leaving the grounds but shows the expanse of the outer palace area just after entering the main gate.

Inside we are struck with the lushness of vegitation and abundance of waterworks (in great contrast of most of the rest of the Riyadh area).

Towing fountains, ponds and other waterworks do provide cooling to this area.

The stone walkways were works of art in themselves.

.. and another fountain.

One of the many large building inside this complex.

Another view of this same building, whose name & function has long been forgotten.

It obviously was a prominent building based on the number of photographs I took of it.

This fountain was undergoing repairs.

 ... and one more view.

Another large building on the other side of a fence. 

Well manicured gardens were found throughout the complex.

... and more attractive walkways.

... and more fountains.

... and Keith gets in this photo.

... and more water.

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