title: Margab (Riyadh)
text: # Margab (Riyadh)
  
  Al-Marqab (Arabic: المرقب, lit. 'watchtower'), or in Najdi vernacular pronunciation as al-Margab, is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located east of al-Dirah and south of Thulaim in the sub-municipality of al-Batʼha. It was referred to as Margab by the local populace, the Arabic word for watchtower in Najd, due to the fortifications of the former walled town that used to overlook the settlement from the west prior to getting dismantled in the 1950s. As the neighborhood is bounded by al-Batʼha Street to the west, its western strip partially forms part of the al-Batʼha commercial area.
  
  The early traces of its existence dates back to 16th century, which nearly corresponds with the final stages of the disintegration of Hajr al-Yamamah that resulted in the succession of several settlements from the former.
  
  