https://arab.news/4qfwx
In the shadow of ancient mud-brick palaces that whisper tales of the First Saudi State's birthplace, the Diriyah Global Seminar 2025 unfolded like a desert bloom, drawing scholars, policymakers, and visionaries to the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Held from Dec. 11-12 under the theme “Sustaining Civilizations: Oases and the Continuity of Heritage,” the event illuminated how these verdant lifelines in arid expanses have cradled human ingenuity for millennia. At its core was a profound exploration of Wadi Hanifah — the 120 km lifeline that snakes through Diriyah and Riyadh — and its oases, not merely as historical curiosities, but as blueprints for tomorrow’s sustainable world.
Oases, those miraculous pockets of green amid relentless sands, have long been more than oases of relief; they are engines of endurance. From the fertile cradle of Al-Ahsa to the palm-fringed springs of Diriyah, these ecosystems sustained trade caravans, nurtured agricultural revolutions, and fostered cultural crossroads that gave birth to empires. The seminar, organized by the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, wove together ecological, architectural, and intangible threads of heritage, revealing how wadis such as Hanifah enabled settlements, irrigation ingenuity, and storytelling traditions that connect generations.
