| Al-Ajnab | |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics Type1: | Language |
| Native Name: | الأجناب |
| Subdivision Type2: | City |
| Subdivision Name2: | Riyadh |
| Subdivision Name3: | Old Riyadh |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name: | Saudi Arabia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Arabic |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
Hillat al-Ajnab was a quarter and a douar within the city walls in the erstwhile fortress-city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,[1] [2] [3] located in the northeastern corner of the walled town.[4] [5] It was situated east of Masmak Fortress, at the entrance of Bab al-Thumairi. The ruins of the settlement today include most of Souq al-Suweigah in the ad-Dirah neighborhood and its name was derived from al-ājānib, the Arabic word for outsiders as most of its residents where foreigners who were given accommodation as guests or advisors of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud,[6] such as John Philby and Muhammad Asad.[7] [8]
The settlement shared close proximity with the Duhairah settlement from the east and al-Gadimah settlement[9] [10] from the south and following the dismantling of the city walls and subsequent expansion and modernization of Riyadh in the 1970s, the settlement evolved into Souq al-Suweigah and assumed most of its current form during the Qasr Al-Hukm District Development Project between 1983 and 1992.
The settlement once hosted a garage that belonged to the future monarch of Saudi Arabia, Saud bin Abdulaziz and also hosted the residence of Princess Noura bint Abdul Rahman al-Saud, elder sister and adviser of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud and the eldest daughter of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal al-Saud, the last emir of the Second Saudi State.