Irqah

Irqah is an old town on the banks of Wadi Hanifa to the west of Riyadh and south of Diriyah. The growth of the Saudi capital has absorbed it, and it is now one of the city's western neighbourhoods. It is one of the Najdi settlements that grew up along the wadi, relying on its groundwater and fertile soil to grow date palms and other crops.

Irqah was historically one of the villages of Wadi Hanifa, and its history was closely tied to that of neighbouring Diriyah and Riyadh. Its buildings were made of mud and mud brick in the traditional Najdi style and stood within walls surrounded by farms. As Riyadh expanded in the last decades of the twentieth century, modern roads and residential developments reached the area.

Palm groves still extend along the floor of the wadi at Irqah, and some old mud houses and traces of the original settlement remain among the orchards. The Wadi Hanifa corridor, which has been rehabilitated as a long natural park, passes through the area and is used by Riyadh residents for walking and picnics.