RIYADH: Al-Masani, a historic settlement south of Riyadh, lies along Wadi Hanifah, whose waters branch west and east to irrigate palm groves and agricultural lands with centuries-old roots.
The area is also fed by Wadi Namar, which meets with Wadi Hanifah at Al-Masani's northern edge, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
To the south, Wadi Hanifah joins Wadi Al-Wutar, also known as Al-Batha, forming a 3-km stretch.
Historians trace the name “Al-Masani” to “masani al-ma” (water conduits), the plural of “sana,’” referring to irrigation channels that once supplied palm orchards.
The settlement’s antiquity is supported by accounts from Al-Ḥasan Al-Hamdani, the 10th-century Yemeni scholar, who identified it as “the settlement of Dhur bin Razzah from Bakr bin Wa’il tribe.”
