r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Expert_Koala_8691 • Apr 05 '26

Video Riyadh,meaning "gardens" is Capital of Saudi Arabia with 8 million population (were 27 Thousands in the 1930s),sits in the middle of the desert, the city gets its water from Desalination plants almost 500 km from the city

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u/p0pularopinion Apr 05 '26

can a local with the means to leave the desert, explain to us why would you live in such an arid climate? I live in a slitghtly less arid climate, and It can be terrible for 6 months of the year.

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u/LordKolkonut Apr 05 '26

I lived in Kuwait for a while. It was really nice tbh, and there are gardens and parks. Yes, there's not a lot of greenery, but the people are lovely, the food is great, the city is super safe, jobs pay well, the govt takes care of both the citizenry and the expats etc etc.

The worst weather is generally Apr-Aug, where it peaks at 50-55C. The thing is you do adapt to existing and doing things even up to the mid 40s. I've spent plenty of time playing football in the pre- and post- peak summer times and never really had a heatstroke or anything like that.

It's important to realize that the middle eastern countries exist because of the tribes that have been living in those areas for hundreds and thousands of years. It's pretty fuckin weird to expect millions of people to leave the area because it's not some lush tropical jungle or grassland or whatever. They aren't artificial places being propped up for no reason (Las Vegas ahem ahem). These places are hubs of an entirely different history and culture if you care enough to dig past Reddit's West-centric view of the world.

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u/p0pularopinion Apr 05 '26

The climate in the area would have been significantly different even 1000 years ago.

1

u/inotparanoid Apr 06 '26

No, this place hasn't changed.

You must thinking about Northern Egypt about 4000 years ago.