domingo, janeiro 30, 2005

Diriyyah

Diriyyah e' sem duvida a grande atraccao de Riade. Indo de carro fica a pouco mais de vinte minutos do meu hotel. Ao que parece foi aqui que tudo comecou. Historicamente esta vila e' a base da familia real saudita, os Al-Saud, e foi tambem a partir daqui que se deu a conquista da peninsula arabica que levou 'a formacao do reino como hoje o conhecemos.

Segundo consta a cidade foi fundada em 1446 (pouco mais velha que Goa). A cidade prosperou e ganhou importancia. Infelizmente, em 1816 na sequencia da guerra com o Imperio Otomono a cidade foi destruida, a populacao dispersada e os lideres executados.

Hoje Diriyyah (a velha) e' um ponto de interesse historico. Logo a entrada ha' uma mesquita, imponente, e bonita. A parte nova da cidade nao tem grande historia.

A cidade e' como se ve. As casas sao feitas de argila, terreas, e frescas. Algumas ha' que tentam ter um segundo andar, mas a estrutura e' demasiado fragil para aguentar com o peso adicional. No entanto, nenhuma dispensa a sua acoteia. Se estivessem caidas de branco poderiamos pensar que estavamos no Al-Gharb (Algarve).

Toda a estrutura e' fragil, demasiado fragil. Parecem torroes de terra enormes, na iminencia de se desfazarem num dia de muita chuva. Felizmente, quase nada chove por estes lados.

Foi um passeio bonito, refrescante e interessante.

Diriyyah is unquestionably the main attraction of Riyadh. By car it takes about 20 minutes to reach the place from the hotel. As it seems everything started here. Historically, the town is in the origin of the Saudi Royal family, the Al-Saud, and it was also here that took place the conquest of the Arabian Pensinsula leading to the formation of Saudi Arabia as we know it nowadays.

It's said that the town was founded in 1446 (sligthly older than Goa). The city prospered and gained importance. Unfortunately, in 1816 as a result of the war against the Otoman Empire the city was destroyed, the population dispersed, and their leaders executed.

The old Diriyyah is certainly a site of historical interest. In its entrance there is a mosk: an imponent and beautiful one. There really isn't much to say about the new part of town.

The old Diriyyah looks exactly the way you see in the pictures. The houses are made of clay, earth-level and very cool in the inside. Some of them try to have a second floor, but the overall structure is too fragile to handle the extra weight. However, all of them have their terrace. If they were painted white, you could easily believe you were in the Al-Gharb (Algarve).

In general, the structure is fragile, too fragile, as if everything would come apart with a strong rain. Luckly, it doesn't rain much around here. Indeed, this was a nice place to visit.



Diriyyah Posted by Hello

posted by Olindo Iglesias @ domingo, janeiro 30, 2005