Kingdom Centre
Saudiarabia
City Landmarks
The Kingdom Centre (also often called Kingdom Tower) is one of Riyadh's most significant landmarks. With an odd-looking outline (sometimes dubbed the 'bottle-opener'): an almost V-shaped gaping hole at its top end, the Kingdom Centre is a 99-floor skyscraper, and the highest building in Saudi Arabia, at 302 meters. Inside, it houses a 3-storey mall (the Mamlaka Mall), a 4,400 metre-squared wedding hall, a five star hotel, conference centers, entertainment venues, and sports clubs, so there's lots to do. The Skybridge, extending across the top, offers a fantastic view of Riyadh. To get to the top by elevator is an experience on its own.
The structure won the 2002 Emporis Skyscraper Award for design. Inside its shopping mall, the Mamlaka Mall, there's a women's only floor with everything from fashion shopping, women-only banks and a women's mosque. Photo credit above: Blue Abaya Photography