Do you know? Saudi Arabia, a big dog in the Middle East, has four capitals, so why does it have such a magical setting?
The capital of a country is generally the administrative, economic, diplomatic and cultural center. And like Saudi Arabia, who gets 4 capitals in one go, he is the only one in the world. But Saudi Arabia said that I am an ordinary country, how can one or two capitals set off the temperament of my local tyrants. It is not a contemptation to know that Saudi Arabia is called "dog household", but a ridicule of its money, which is a homonym of the English "gold", that is, the meaning of gold wealth, which is quite compatible with their rich identity.
So for Saudi Arabia, even if it gets a few more capitals, it is estimated that it is not a problem. As for the first capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh in the central and eastern part of Saudi Arabia, which is also recognized as the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia, its location is not close to the coast, but on the Najd plateau in the middle of the peninsula, more than 380 kilometers from the Persian Gulf closer to the east, but there is a railway, adjacent to the eastern coastal city of Manama.
But to cross the desert, because the north, east and south of the entire plateau are surrounded by desert, coupled with the arid climate, the summer temperature can reach a maximum of 45 degrees Celsius, but the annual precipitation is only a measly 81 mm. So the whole of Riyadh is built in three dry river valleys. It was originally just an ordinary desert town, but now it has been built by local tycoons, and the garden city, ranked 80th among the world's top 500 cities, has entered the ranks of the world's first-tier cities.
And this is thanks to the 30s of the last century, Saudi underground found oil after the wealth earned a lot of wealth, for the construction of the capital, Saudi Arabia is not stingy, the whole city modern and retro combination, both full of Arabian characteristics of the royal palace and the solemn Riyadh Grand Mosque, but also many glass curtain wall modern buildings.
One of the most iconic landmarks is the Kingdom Center Tower, a skyscraper with a total height of 300 meters, which exists like a giant throughout the Riyadh city. From the height of the building, you can overlook the whole of Riyadh, and you will be surprised to find that this place that should have been a desert has been artificially greened into an oasis, planted with Middle Eastern palm trees, olive trees and other vegetation, as well as artificial grass and gardens.
However, due to the scarcity of water resources, water is really more expensive than oil here, and in order to ensure the capital's water supply, Saudi Arabia built a 10-meter-high, 225-meter-long dam to store rainwater. The reason why the capital was built in this desolate land is because in the early 19th century it was the place of the royal family. In the Hanifah Valley, 16 kilometers northwest of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's former capital Draiyah is still preserved, but Saudi Arabia has a more famous capital than the political capital of this royal family, the holy city of Mecca.
Of the four capitals owned by Saudi Arabia, why is Mecca, the holiest city, more famous than Riyadh?
Mecca not only has an important place in the hearts of Saudi Arabs, but is an important holy place throughout the Islamic world and is known as the first holy city of Islam. So since 1932, after the establishment of the present-day Arab Kingdom, Mecca has been revered as the religious capital.
All of Mecca's important status is mainly related to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca in the late 6th century AD, and later unified the entire Arabian Peninsula with this as the center, and directly affected the later expansion of Islam and the Arab Empire in Asia and Africa.
If you want to trace the history of Mecca, according to the Islamic Qur'an, it is a building built as early as 2000 BC, the Kaaba, which is a 10-meter-high stone cube building, with a length of 12 meters from north to south and a width of about 10.1 meters between east and west, which is the exact same "Allah" room built on earth according to the prototype of the heavens. Therefore, it is also known as "Kaaba" among Chinese Muslims, and now this building is located in the center of the Great Mosque in the center of Mecca, which has become the center of worship and audience for Muslims all over the world.
The largest and most prominent mosque in the city of Mecca, and the largest mosque in the world, was built in 630 AD, and after many expansions, especially since the twentieth century, it has reached an area of 356,000 square meters, which can accommodate millions of people to worship at the same time. The entire city of Mecca has a permanent population of less than 1.8 million, but it receives more than 10 million Muslims from all over the world every year.
In fact, the entire city of Mecca is only 760 square kilometers in size, and is located in a valley on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula, near the western edge of the Arabian Plateau, and the expansion of the city has now reached 1200 square kilometers. But Mecca is not a coastal city, and it is still 80 kilometers away from the Red Sea on the western side. However, in terms of climate, it is still a relatively hot and arid region, but this does not prevent Muslims from all over the world from making pilgrimages here.
It is said that every adult Muslim, male or female, has to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in his or her life, which is why so many Muslims travel to Mecca from all over the world every year. Although the entire city of Mecca is located in a valley, Saudi Arabia still spends money on modern cities here, a road network to the holy city of Mecca, and various public services.
So Mecca is not only religious, but also has hotels, malls and skyscrapers. Although the religious capital of Muslims does not function as the administrative center of the Saudi state, the Islamic World Alliance established here has made Mecca the center of Islam. And in order to make transportation more convenient, Saudi Arabia also built the first highway in Saudi Arabia between Mecca and Medina. In addition, the world's largest airport has been built in the neighboring city of Jeddah, another Saudi capital on the Red Sea coast.
Saudi Arabia, which has four capitals, has two capitals, in addition to Riyadh, the political capital, and Mecca, the Muslim religious capital, and what are their respective functions?
Unlike Riyadh, the capital of east-central Saudi Arabia, Mecca and the other two Saudi capital cities are all located on the west bank of the Arabian Peninsula. And from east to west are Taif, Mecca and Jeddah, located on the coast, Jeddah not only provides the world's largest air port, but also an important seaport city, the religious capital of Mecca.
As the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah is the country's largest economic, financial and trade center, unlike the desert arid climate common in other parts of Saudi Arabia, because it is close to the Red Sea coast, only 300 meters from the Red Sea, affected by the sea vapor, resulting in a hot and humid climate, but the coastal area where the entire city is located is relatively flat, with an average altitude of only 100 meters, so land transportation is also very developed.
As a historic seaport, Jeddah first developed as a port transportation and as an important transit trade port, flourished with pilgrims in the 17th century, and later became an important commercial trading port after the establishment of Saudi Arabia, and has now become the largest port city on the Red Sea coast.
But if you think that Jeddah, as the economic and financial center of Saudi Arabia, must be the economic capital, you are wrong. Because Jeddah is the only city in Saudi Arabia's Hejaz province on the Red Sea coast that allows non-Muslims to live, coupled with the developed economy and modern facilities, land, sea and air transportation are very convenient, a large number of foreigners gather here, the entire urban area is 1,200 square kilometers, the population is about 3 million, of which foreign nationals account for one-third.
As a result, it has become the consulate general of more than 70 countries in Saudi Arabia, as well as the residence of some international organizations in Saudi Arabia. Later, Saudi Arabia simply established the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, and Jeddah became a veritable "diplomatic capital" of Saudi Arabia. At the same time, because it is only 70 kilometers away from the holy city of Mecca, it has become an important transit point for Muslims from home and abroad to Mecca.
160 kilometers east of Jeddah and 88 kilometers from Mecca, there is a small city in Taif, the fourth capital of Saudi Arabia, also known as the summer capital, as the name suggests, the capital of the king's summer. For the royal state of Saudi Arabia, where the king is, it is the administrative center. And the summer capital Taif is equivalent to the existence of Chengde Summer Resort in the Qing Dynasty on the mainland. So the city was an important summer resort for kings and ministers, and it was the site of some important international conferences.
The reason for choosing this place as the summer capital is to see the mild climate conditions here, the average temperature in summer is between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, and in winter it is also 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, which is mainly due to the altitude of 1600 meters here, coupled with the abundant groundwater here, can meet the irrigation demand, so it has become an important agricultural and animal husbandry center in Saudi Arabia, not only growing barley wheat, but also rich in citrus, olives, watermelons, grapes and other fruits.
Although the small city is only 175 square kilometers and has a population of only 350,000, it is definitely a rich land, and many luxury villas are built on the Gaizwang Hill. However, the royal palace was not built in the city, but 30 kilometers north of the city, and had a special airport.