For the most short-term visitors, Riyadh appears as a dry (scorchingly hot during the summer months) and dull car-oriented mega city. Too many ten lane highways, too many people with "only me" attitude, chaotic driving habits, awful traffic jams... you name it.
From this perspective it might be a bit odd to hear that Riyadh literally means "gardens" in Arabic. But as in any good Thousand and One Nights story, Riyadh is a city of hidden treasures. One such treasure is Wadi Hanifa, a some 120 km long valley cutting through the city from north to south.
The January/February 2012 issue of Saudi Aramco World (a periodical published by Saudi Aramco - the world's largest oil company) includes a very interesting article about Wadi Hanifa, its history as a Riyadh's collective garbage dump and sewer and a 10-year-long restoration project with a budget of around $1 billion.
Definitively worth the read!
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