Al-Sir Region
Al-Sir Region
A historic Najdi region between the Safra highlands to the west and Nufud al-Sir to the east, its central lowland dotted with villages and springs, documented by Hamad al-Jasser as home to twenty-five ancient settlements including al-Sukran, founded around 1242 AH.
Plan your visit
Practical information verified separately from the historical record.
Before you go: Check with the operator or a local guide before departure; field access details have not yet been verified.
Why visit?
Discover a highland province whose mud-brick ghost villages, springs, and sand sea preserve one of the best-mapped traditional landscapes of western Najd.
The al-Sir region is a historic province in the heart of Najd within Riyadh Province, with Sajir as its principal center about 270 kilometers northwest of the capital. Three integrated parts define it: the Safra highlands of al-Sir to the west, which feed the area with runoff and groundwater; the sands of Nufud al-Sir to the east, stretching roughly 177 kilometers; and between them the low basin of Batn al-Sir scattered with villages and natural springs.
Hamad al-Jasser, born in the village of al-Baroud within al-Sir, documented twenty-five old villages in the region, many now abandoned yet still marked by traditional mud-brick houses, mosques, wells, and lanes. Among them al-Sukran, founded around 1242 AH, retains a coherent heritage fabric of prayer houses, water sources, and earthen architecture.
Al-Sir offers a comprehensive picture of Najdi highland life: a corridor where plateau, sand, and settlement interlock, and where one scholar's meticulous record keeps memory alive for villages slowly returning to silence.