# Al Murabba

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Not to be confused with [New Murabba](/source/New_Murabba).

**Al-Murabba** (Arabic: المربع, *al-murabbaʿ*, lit. 'the square'), historically known as **Beneyah**, is a neighborhood in central [Riyadh](/source/Riyadh), Saudi Arabia,[1] located west of [al-Wazarat](/source/Al_Wizarat_(Riyadh)) and north of [al-Futah](/source/Al_Fouta) in the sub-municipality of [al-Malaz](/source/Al_Malaz_Sub-Municipality). Its name reportedly comes from a broken square-shaped [dry well](/source/Dry_well) around which the [Murabba Palace](/source/Murabba_Palace) was built in the 1940s and from where latter's name gets derived as well.[2][3] It was built on the site of Beneyah,[4] one of the towns that emerged in the aftermath of the disintegration of [Hajr al-Yamamah](/source/Hajr) in 16th century and is today situated in close proximity to the [al-Batʼha commercial area](/source/Al_Bat%CA%BCha_(Riyadh)) and the [Qasr al-Hukm District](/source/Qasr_Al_Hukm_District).

Al-Murabba has lent its name to the [New Murabba](/source/New_Murabba) project, a planned downtown and real estate development in northwestern [Riyadh](/source/Riyadh). The neighborhood hosts a large presence of overseas [Egyptian](/source/Egyptians) community.[5]

## History

The area was historically known as Beneyah, one of the towns that emerged from the 16th century disintegration of [Hajr al-Yamamah](/source/Hajr). In the 18th century, regular skirmishes used to take place between the [First Saudi State](/source/First_Saudi_state) and forces loyal to Riyadh’s ruler [Dahham ibn Dawwas](/source/Dahham_ibn_Dawwas) between 1746 and 1773.[6]

After the [unification of Saudi Arabia](/source/Unification_of_Saudi_Arabia), [King Abdulaziz](/source/Ibn_Saud) ordered building of palaces outside the [former city walls](/source/Riyadh_city_wall) of [Old Riyadh](/source/Old_Riyadh), marking one of the preludes for the subsequent expansions of [Riyadh](/source/Riyadh).[7][8] One of the places he chose was in the Murabba neighborhood in 1937 to build the [Murabba Palace](/source/Murabba_Palace). According to Saudi historian Mansour al-Assaf, there was a square-shaped [dry well](/source/Dry_well) in the neighborhood, from which the area derives its name 'al-Murabba' (lit. the square).[2][3] In 1969, the [Riyadh Water Tower](/source/Riyadh_Water_Tower) was inaugurated in the neighborhood.[9] In 1999, the [King Abdulaziz Historical Center](/source/King_Abdul_Aziz_Historical_Centre) which contained the Abdulaziz's former Murabba Palace and the [National Museum](/source/National_Museum_of_Saudi_Arabia) was inaugurated by [King Fahd](/source/Fahd_of_Saudi_Arabia) to commemorate the 100th anniversary (in terms of Hijri calendar) of Abdulaziz's [capturing of Riyadh](/source/Battle_of_Riyadh_(1902)) in 1902.[10]

## Legacy

In February 2023, crown prince [Mohammed bin Salman](/source/Mohammed_bin_Salman) announced a new downtown project in northwest of [Riyadh](/source/Riyadh), known as the [New Murabba](/source/New_Murabba), named after the neighborhood. He also unveiled the project of [Mukaab](/source/Mukaab), a 400-metre (1,300-foot) cuboidal skyscraper located in the [New Murabba](/source/New_Murabba) and is modeled after the cuboidal layout of the [Murabba Palace](/source/Murabba_Palace).[11][12][13]

## See also

- [Al-Batʼha](/source/Al_Bat%CA%BCha_(Riyadh))
- [Al Malazz (Riyadh)](/source/Al_Malazz_(Riyadh))
- [King Abdulaziz Historical Center](/source/King_Abdul_Aziz_Historical_Centre)

## References

1. ["ar:الإدارة العامة للنظافة"](https://archive.today/20150419133422/http://clean.alriyadh.gov.sa/Pages/Cleaning_Project.aspx). *clean.alriyadh.gov.sa*. 2015-04-19. Archived from [the original](http://clean.alriyadh.gov.sa/Pages/Cleaning_Project.aspx) on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2022-09-04.

1. ["ar:بالفيديو.. العساف: "بئر معطلة" وراء تسمية حي المربع بهذا الاسم"](https://slaati.com//2021/03/23/p1826214.html). Retrieved 2022-09-04.

1. ["ar:ليست نسبة للقصر.. تعرف على أصل تسمية حي المربع في الرياض"](https://garbnews.net/news/s/https%3A%2F%2Fgarbnews.net%3A443%2Fnews%2Fs%2F186974) (in ar-sa). Retrieved 2022-09-04.[dead link]

1. ["الرياض.. أصالة وعراقة"](https://www.alriyadh.com/2122613). *www.alriyadh.com*. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2026.

1. عبد الله محمد (2006-09-24). ["ar:الهنود حول المطاعم"](https://www.alyaum.com/articles/425448/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%86%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%85) (in Arabic). *alyaum*. Retrieved 2023-12-11.

1. ["الرياض.. أصالة وعراقة"](https://www.alriyadh.com/2122613). *www.alriyadh.com*. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2026.

1. ["ar:حي المربع .. مَهَّدَ من خارج السور القديم نهضة الرياض الحديثة"](https://www.al-madina.com/article/727736/محليات/حي-المربع-مهد-من-خارج-السور-القديم-نهضة-الرياض-الحديثة) (in Arabic). 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2022-09-04.

1. ["ar:"حي المربع" الانطلاقة والازدهار لباقي أجزاء العاصمة بدأت من هنا"](https://www.alriyadh.com/235279) (in Arabic). *www.alriyadh.com*. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2022.

1. ["ar:كازينو الرياض - م. بدر بن ناصر الحمدان"](https://www.al-jazirah.com/2020/20201214/ln17.htm). *www.al-jazirah.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240910154614/https://www.al-jazirah.com/2020/20201214/ln17.htm) 2024-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-09-05.

1. ["ar:المتحف الوطني في الرياض.. بوابة جزيرة العرب إلى التاريخ,"](https://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?issueno=10261&article=428826#.YxWMWnZBzIU). *archive.aawsat.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240910154532/https://archive.aawsat.com/details.asp?issueno=10261&article=428826#.YxWMWnZBzIU) 2024-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2022-09-05.

1. ["ar:من المربع القديم للجديد.. الـ"داون تاون" الأحدث عالمياً"](https://www.alriyadh.com/1998127) (in Arabic). *www.alriyadh.com*. 18 February 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230331150235/https://www.alriyadh.com/1998127) 31 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 March 2023.

1. ["ar:«المربع» بين زمنين في تاريخ العاصمة السعودية"](https://aawsat.com/home/article/4168446/%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9%C2%BB-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B2%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9) (in Arabic). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230407160153/https://aawsat.com/home/article/4168446/%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9%C2%BB-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B2%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9) 2023-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-31.

1. العبوش, قحطان. ["ar:السعودية.. قصر المربع الطيني القديم يكتسب شهرة عالمية عبر مشروع جديد"](https://www.eremnews.com/entertainment/yovjfrdjgq) (in Arabic). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230331150435/https://www.eremnews.com/entertainment/yovjfrdjgq) 2023-03-31 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-03-31.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Al Murabba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Murabba) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Murabba?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.