Al-Mansurah
المنصورة Khanshaleelah | |
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Coordinates: 24°36′33″N 46°44′32″E / 24.60917°N 46.74222°E | |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
City | Riyadh |
Government | |
• Body | Baladiyah Al Batha Baladiyah Al Aziziya |
Area | |
• Total | 5.89 km2 (2.27 sq mi) |
Language | |
• Official | Arabic |
Al-Mansurah (Arabic: المنصورة), alternatively romanized as al-Mansourah and formerly known as Khanshaleelah,[1] (Arabic: خنشليلة, lit. 'khan of Jaleelah') is a historic neighborhood in southern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located east of Manfuhah and west of al-Khalidiyyah in the sub-municipalities of al-Batʼha and Aziziya.[2][3][4] It was once a stopover for Hajj pilgrims on the traditional route arriving from the east and was named after a 16th century local woman, Jaleelah bint Abdul Mohsen ad-Dar'iy, who had donated her house as a caravanserai to accommodate the travelers enroute to Mecca.[5]
According to historians, the neighborhood's previous name, Khanshaleelah was derived from the name of a woman, Jaleelah, the daughter of Abdul Mohsen bin Sai'id ad-Dar'iy al-Hanafyy, who reportedly donated her house to feed and accommodate Hajj pilgrims passing through Riyadh from east.[6][7]
Pilgrims arriving from non-Arab eastern countries of Central Asia and Transoxiana dubbed the neighborhood as "khan", a Middle Persian word that refers to an "urban caravanserai" built within a town or a city.[8]