al-Tahliah Street | |
Native name | شارع التحلية (Arabic) |
---|---|
Namesake | Muhammad bin Abdulaziz |
Location | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Coordinates | 24°38′28″N 46°42′52″E / 24.64111°N 46.71444°E |
Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Road (Arabic: طريق الأمير محمد بن عبد العزيز), better known as al-Tahliah Street (Arabic: شارع التحلية, lit. 'the desalinating street') and al-Zaki Street (Arabic: شارع الذكي, lit. 'the smart street'),[1][2] is a 4.75 km east–west commercial thoroughfare in northern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The street is named after the building of Saline Water Conversion Corporation,[3][4] which is situated on its westernmost part. Tahliah Street became a popular attraction among youngsters in mid-2000s,[5] especially when the Saudi government introduced free Wi-Fi scheme in the avenue. It hosts several outlets of multinational chains of restaurants and cafeterias.[6][7][8][9][10] The street has been compared to the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris, France[11][12] and most of its visitors flock during weekends, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and national holidays.[13][14]
It branches out from Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Awwal Road in al-Maʼdhar neighborhood and terminates at Prince Abdulaziz ibn Mosa’ad bin Jalawi Street in al-Sulaimaniyah district, cutting through al-Olaya.
The street began to lose its status of a preferred leisure destination by 2019 as a result of the emergence of new entertainment centers in Riyadh under Saudi Vision 2030.[15]