RIYADH, 3 August 2005 — Hundreds of members of the public surrounded the Al-Oud cemetery yesterday to pay their final respects, as dozens of members of the royal family, including King Abdullah and various foreign dignitaries, arrived from the Imam Turki ibn Abdullah Mosque to accompany the late monarch to his final resting place.
King Fahd’s bier arrived by ambulance shortly after Asr prayers escorted by dozens of vehicles which were part of the procession from the mosque. The former ruler was buried in the Al-Saud family’s plot alongside former rulers King Khaled and King Faisal, as teary-eyed members of the royal family looked on.
King Fahd was buried in a simple grave, marked only by a stone. Senior members of the royal family were present surrounding the grave as they watched a leader, a father and a brother laid to rest. The burial took less than 40 minutes, and several dignitaries walked away visibly shaken and saddened, some with tears in their eyes.
“I saw King Abdullah today looking sadder than I have ever seen him before,” one journalist was heard to say, as the new king filed past toward the grave where his older brother was about to be laid to rest.
Prior to Asr prayers, hundreds of security officers arrived at the cemetery to conduct a walk-through searching for any type of threat. Journalists at the cemetery were subjected to searches of their belongings as snipers took positions on the top of nearby buildings overlooking the gravesite.
Members of the public wishing to pay their respects congregated outside the cemetery from before Asr prayers, their numbers growing by the minute. Once the cemetery gates were opened faithful citizens began to pour into Al-Oud cemetery.
“He was a father to us all. My coming here is the very least that I can do to show my appreciation. He will be sorely missed as a son misses his father,” said Muneer Al-Jahdali, 34.
