All that has now changed with many international carriers serving Riyadh as well as Jeddah and Dhahran. Riyadh has predictably undergone a major transformation since the discovery of oil. In 1932 the city was only 8.5 square kilometres in area, but by 1994 it had expanded to over 1600 square kilometres. As a matter of fact, very little of what you see in Riyadh today is older than 50 years and a great deal is less than 20. Rain is not unusual in the winter, nor are sandstorms.
Summer is dry and hot, but without the uncomfortable humidity of Jeddah or Dhahran.
It is important to note that permits for visits to all archaeological sites and forts in the country, except for those located in the Eastern province, are obtained at the Riyadh Museum. The Eastern Province Bordering the Arabian Gulf and containing the towns of Dhahran, Al-Khobar, Dammam, Qatif, Hofuf and Jubail, the Eastern Province is where oil was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. Before the discovery of oil, Dammam and Al-Khobar were tiny fishing and pearling villages. There was no Dhahran at all. Dammam is the administrative centre of the province and one end of the Dammam-Riyadh railway.