Travel Guide Al-Kharj

Al-Kharj is one of the important cities of Najd. Located 100 km southeast of Riyadh, the city has a population of 380,000. It is one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula, mentioned in poems from the pre-Islamic era. It was also a coveted battleground during the unification of Saudi Arabia, where the Sauds and the Rasheeds clashed for a long time. Al-Kharj is an important crossing point between the eastern states of the peninsula and Mecca. In ancient Arabic, its name means "the inaccessible valley", surrounded as it is by the great desert of Dahna. Today it is a modern city of little tourist interest.