Saudi Arabia's buzzwords of 2016 are "change" and "modernization." So it might do us well to see how far the kingdom has come.
1880s
View of the city of Mecca, late 1880s
!['Vierte Ansicht der Stadt Mekka' [Fourth view of the city of Mecca]. Photographer: al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār, 1886-89. X463/5 'Vierte Ansicht der Stadt Mekka' [Fourth view of the city of Mecca]. Photographer: al-Sayyid ʻAbd al-Ghaffār, 1886-89. X463/5](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/631/x463_0028_cropped-700x.jpg)
The Hajji tent camp at the tomb of Sittana Maimuna, the wife of the prophet,1885
![The Hajji tent camp at the tomb of Sittana Maimuna, the wife of the prophet. Makkah, Saudi Arabia 1885 The Hajji tent camp at the tomb of Sittana Maimuna, the wife of the prophet. Makkah, Saudi Arabia 1885](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/2c8/fc7966724abd5b3fd0b0fe37e68c0fe7-700x.jpg)
1900s
Construction of the Hejaz railroad, 1906
![Construction of the Hejaz railroad : Ballasting the rail tracks, 1906 Construction of the Hejaz railroad : Ballasting the rail tracks, 1906](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/379/screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-4-37-30-pm-700x.png)
Laying the Hejaz railroad tracks near Tabuk, 1906
![Laying the Hejaz railroad tracks near Tabuk, 1906 Laying the Hejaz railroad tracks near Tabuk, 1906](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/fb5/screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-4-42-53-pm-700x.png)
1910s
Camel caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, 1910
![Camel caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, 1910 Camel caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, 1910](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/abb/screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-4-47-44-pm-700x.png)
Medina: Central station in front of the west gate, 1914
![Medina: Central station in front of the west gate, 1914 Medina: Central station in front of the west gate, 1914](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/d16/screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-4-40-58-pm-700x.png)
Ruin city of al-Hijr, 1914
![Ruin city of al-Hijr, 1914 Ruin city of al-Hijr, 1914](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/9c3/screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-4-49-59-pm-700x.png)
1920s
The Ka’aba in the 1920s
![DSC04831 DSC04831](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/25b/dsc04831-700x.jpg)
1930s
King Abdulaziz and the US Petrol Minister, laying the groundwork for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (ARAMCO) 1934
![600px-His_Majesty_King_Abdul_Aziz_Al_Saud 600px-His_Majesty_King_Abdul_Aziz_Al_Saud](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/516/600px-his_majesty_king_abdul_aziz_al_saud-700x.jpg)
Dammam: The first commercial oil well in Saudi Arabia, 1938
![Dammam_No._7_on_March_4,_1938 Dammam_No._7_on_March_4,_1938](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/4d8/dammam_no-_7_on_march_4_1938-700x.jpg)
1940s
Entourage of King Abdulaziz, 1945
![entourageofKingIbnSaudofSaudiArabia1945 entourageofKingIbnSaudofSaudiArabia1945](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/751/entourageofkingibnsaudofsaudiarabia1945-700x.jpg)
Royal bodyguards of Saudi Arabia, 1947
![1947ThemenwhoprotectEmirSaudroyalbodyguardsofSaudiArabiaHultonDeutsch 1947ThemenwhoprotectEmirSaudroyalbodyguardsofSaudiArabiaHultonDeutsch](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/54b/1947themenwhoprotectemirsaudroyalbodyguardsofsaudiarabiahultondeutsch-700x.jpg)
1950s
A group of people looking at an Aramco airplane after landing in Dhahran, 1950s
![image001 image001](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/d32/image001-700x.jpg)
A view of the Ras Tanura Government Customs House, 1952
![image007 image007](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/b94/image007-700x.jpg)
Shoppers strolling down King Saud Street in Al-Khobar, 1954
![image015-1 image015-1](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/fd6/image015-1-700x.jpg)
1960s
Street scene in Jeddah, 1960s
![postcard-street-scene-in-jeddah,-saudi-arabia-circa-1960s_361376251964 postcard-street-scene-in-jeddah,-saudi-arabia-circa-1960s_361376251964](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/117/postcard-street-scene-in-jeddah-saudi-arabia-circa-1960s_361376251964-700x.jpg)
Car washing in Riyadh, 1960s
![tumblr_mu7dx7DGFe1swkd5eo1_1280 tumblr_mu7dx7DGFe1swkd5eo1_1280](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/c84/tumblr_mu7dx7dgfe1swkd5eo1_1280-700x.jpg)
King Khalid Street in Khobar, 1960s
![tumblr_mukgixW8EV1swkd5eo1_1280 tumblr_mukgixW8EV1swkd5eo1_1280](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/178/tumblr_mukgixw8ev1swkd5eo1_1280-700x.jpg)
1970s
A Saudi family walking on the streets of Dammam, 1970s
![saudi family saudi family](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/fcf/saudi-family-700x.jpg)
Jeddah street view, 1970s
![12 12](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/aa5/12-700x.jpg)
Women in Khobar, 1970s
![tumblr_ntze4ahJJ51rkn8fuo1_500 tumblr_ntze4ahJJ51rkn8fuo1_500](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/fa3/tumblr_ntze4ahjj51rkn8fuo1_500-700x.jpg)
1980s
Caravan Shopping Center in Jeddah, 1982
![Caravan Shopping - Baskin Robbins Caravan Shopping - Baskin Robbins](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/d07/29811494-700x.jpg)
A glimpse of Jeddah rising, 1984
![downtown-walk-park-souk downtown-walk-park-souk](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/b5f/29811522-700x.jpg)
1990s
Aerial shot of Riyadh, 1990s
![Some Memories of Riyadh from 1990’s Some Memories of Riyadh from 1990’s](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/d28/some-memories-of-riyadh-from-1990-e2-80-99s-700x.jpg)
Present
The north side of Riyadh, 2015
![Source: Flickr/Maher Najm Source: Flickr/Maher Najm](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/0db/19635135252_5573f393e0_z-700x.jpg)
Kingdom Tower in Riyadh, 2015
![Source: Flickr/Maher Najm Source: Flickr/Maher Najm](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/cec/26392316742_e5bdf79b29_z-700x.jpg)
Abraj Al-Bait in Mecca, 2010s
![Source: Pixabay Source: Pixabay](https://stepcdn.com/assets/legacy/eca/mecca-66965_640-700x.jpg)