Rawdat Khuraim, Nature reserve in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia.
Rawdat Khuraim is a nature reserve in the Riyadh Region featuring flat desert terrain with several basins for rainwater collection and native vegetation. The landscape supports various plants and animals adapted to dry conditions.
The name is linked to Sheikh Turki bin Muthbit al-Khurayyim of the Dawasir, a famed horseman killed here in a raid by Imam Abdullah bin Faisal of Riyadh and buried on the spot. In early Islam the site was called Dhat al-Ri'al, then Rawdat al-Zaydi, after a well of the Subay' tribe. In 2018 it became the Imam Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Royal Reserve, headed by Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd.
The name Khuraim is linked to Sheikh Turki bin Muthbit al-Khuraim of the Dawasir, a famed horseman killed there by Imam Abdullah bin Faisal of Riyadh and buried on the spot; his brother Arar found the body and buried him. Another account ties the name to Naqa Khuraim, a sand dune at the south-eastern edge. In early Islam the area was called Dhat al-Ri'al, ostrich chicks.
Rawdat Khuraim lies about 100 km northeast of Riyadh, near the town of Gailanah in the southwest of the Dhanana desert, and is reached via the Ramah–Riyadh road. Cars must be parked outside the first section, which visitors enter on foot to protect the vegetation. The reserve is divided into three sections, including a 9 km wildlife enclosure where Arabian oryx, gazelles, houbara bustards, ostriches and Arabian horses can be seen.
Three valleys - Shuaib Al-Toki, Wadi Khoy, and Thilan - converge to form natural pathways where wildlife moves. This convergence creates different water flow patterns that influence the plants and animals throughout the year.
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