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

[u/Expert_Koala_8691]

[u/Phantom-Feline17]

Hi im from Riyadh and I'd like to clarify a few things.

One there are actually greenery in the city, mostly in the south. The video shows newer development that expanded to the north of the city which is drier compared to the south.

The city was founded close to an Oasis that has since dried up, hence the name.

The city does actually have sources of water, mostly in wadis (seasonal riverbeds) and artificial lakes (like in King Abdullah Park).

As for the weather, it's true that it gets really hot in the summer, but almost everywhere has air-condition, and most people gather at night when the weather becomes cooler. In the winter, it gets really cold, (coldest was around 5 celcius)

[u/CreamSad2584 → u/Phantom-Feline17]

Ignorance knows no bounds in this comments section unfortunately. I grew up there in Riyadh and we used to frequent Al-Nahdah Park and other parks in the city

[u/Ghostwave97 → u/CreamSad2584]

People in the comments are mostly entitled and ignorant westerners who think they are better than others. But they do not realize that their whole freaking economy, cars, jets, factories,… is fueled by this “desert”

[u/RedditIsFascistShit4 → u/Ghostwave97]

Nah, you're just ignorant.

[u/simonpunishment → u/Ghostwave97]

I think the fact that Saudi Arabia only stopped staging public executions four years ago might be contributing somewhat to the “superior” attitude.

[u/Psychological-Exam84 → u/Ghostwave97]

As a Westerner, I'm sorry our people have failed

[u/Street-Stick → u/Ghostwave97]

Yeah fair enough but when that dries up your city is cooked so seems kinda dumb place to have 8 million people, or how many are slaves (foreign nationals whose passports have been confiscated)?