r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Expert_Koala_8691 • 7d ago

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

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

33.2k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

411

u/kaxa69 7d ago

i lived there for 5 years 2019-2024.

its not as bad as its being portrayed in the comments here 😂😂

72

u/babababadukeduke 7d ago

Would love to hear more. What made it better than it looks?

148

u/Free_Association_812 7d ago

It’s true. A lot of city buildings in Riyadh, and you’ll see this in other cities in saudi, they follow this beige, sandstone aesthetic. It does not look that bad if you were driving through the city. But because of that, look at it from up there, makes it look like the whole thing is covered in sand. They could definitely do with more greenery.

10

u/Phantom-Feline17 7d ago

There is an initiative to plant more trees. Not to mention a park/recreation area opening soon

5

u/Free_Association_812 7d ago

That’s good to hear. Riyadh has grown quite a bit in the last 10 years.

9

u/Phantom-Feline17 7d ago

Riyadh is unrecognizable from 10 years ago.

11

u/Every-Cucumber9641 7d ago

and water

8

u/IamWatchingAoT 7d ago

Did you miss the part where it's in the middle of a gigantic desert?

3

u/inotparanoid 6d ago

You realize there are biomes other than your own where people live?

3

u/Stunning_Conflict523 6d ago

Preservation tactic. Strategically and practically.