Here’s a pictorial reminder that Saudi Arabia has definitely evolved a lot over the past century or so. Saudi Arabia’s buzzwords of 2016 are “change” and “modernization.” So it might do us well to see how far the kingdom has come.
1880s
View of the city of Mecca, late 1880s
The Hajji tent camp at the tomb of Sittana Maimuna, the wife of the prophet,1885
1900s
Construction of the Hejaz railroad, 1906
Laying the Hejaz railroad tracks near Tabuk, 1906
1910s
Camel caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, 1910
Medina: Central station in front of the west gate, 1914
Ruin city of al-Hijr, 1914
1920s
The Ka’aba in the 1920s
1930s
King Abdulaziz and the US Petrol Minister, laying the groundwork for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (ARAMCO) 1934
Dammam: The first commercial oil well in Saudi Arabia, 1938
1940s
Entourage of King Abdulaziz, 1945
Royal bodyguards of Saudi Arabia, 1947
1950s
A group of people looking at an Aramco airplane after landing in Dhahran, 1950s
A view of the Ras Tanura Government Customs House, 1952
Shoppers strolling down King Saud Street in Al-Khobar, 1954
1960s
Street scene in Jeddah, 1960s
Car washing in Riyadh, 1960s
King Khalid Street in Khobar, 1960s
1970s
A Saudi family walking on the streets of Dammam, 1970s
Jeddah street view, 1970s
Women in Khobar, 1970s
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1980s
Caravan Shopping Center in Jeddah, 1982
A glimpse of Jeddah rising, 1984
1990s
Aerial shot of Riyadh, 1990s
Present
The north side of Riyadh, 2015
