Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ikonos satellite image. North is at top. The US embassy is to the upper left of centre, whilst the runway at the top is part of the King Abdul Aziz Air Base. Riyadh is the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Due to its desert location, its population of 3.5 million have been able to spread across an area of over 1,500 square kilometres. Although the area has been settled for well over a thousand years, it is only in the last two hundred years that it has really risen to prominence. Photographed on 11 June 2002.