Cyclist Paul's Travels: King of Saudi Arabia's palace (Geneva, Switzerland)

I'm about eight miles from Geneva in the well-to-do suburb of Cologny. With views of Lake Geneva along with the Jura Mountains in the distance, this area is home to the super wealthy. Many from the Middle East have homes in the area but, none compare to the King of Saudi Arabia's 177,000 square foot "get away" palace. Built in the 1970's by King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud--very little is known about the place. I did find a website showing an aerial view of the palace and grounds. Click on this link: https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/swiss-palace-of-king-abdullah-bin-abdul-aziz-al-saud/view/google/ Ugh, unfortunately I can't get it to work when clicking on the link so you have to type in the whole thing.

Described as a "mini-Versailles", what you see is a two-story, H-shaped building along with about a dozen villas on a four acre site--all linked by a series of underground tunnels through which vehicles can travel. The estate has up to 100 garages to house the king's fleet of cars.

King Fahd died in 2005. When he would visit his Boeing 747 would be followed by another Boeing 747 as well as four other large planes carrying his staff and royal luggage. After King Fahd's death his brother-in-law King Abdullah took over the property. King Abdullah died in 2015 and is now the property belongs to his half-brother King Salmane. Got that?

I don't have the property's exact address but thanks to Google's view from above I have the general area and am cycling around to see it from the ground.

Came across this interesting chateau in Cologny. Built in 1883 by a wealthy Scotsman, it's half Gothic and half Oriental.

A plaque outside the entrance gate reads" Swiss Oil & Gas Trading SA" .

Going on the internet I learn the owner is Mohamad Harajchi, an Iranian. Guess what? The place is on the market for a cool $60 million.

On the main drag through Cologny one passes by this walled complex. It's the home office for the World Economic Forum--the one who every winter stages the famous gathering of the world's movers and shakers in the ski resort of Davos.

It's a Sunday and the World Economic Forum's offices are closed but I stick my camera through the gates and snap this photo. Over 600 employees work here. The views over Lake Geneva are impressive. The complex houses multiple modernistic buildings totaling 115,000 square feet. It must have cost an arm and a leg as well as overcoming local opposition to build the place but then again, from the very high fees the World Economic Forum charges to attend their events--they could afford it.

Cycling down a side road I came upon this watch tower or is it a fire watch tower? A plaque near the tower base has the dates 1602-1902. Does it mean it was built in 1602 or was there another tower on the site between 1602-1902 and this current tower was built in 1902? Either way I like it.

I'm on a hill. Away from the lakefront it's vineyards, farmland and tiny villages. See that tall building in the distance (it's a flour mill)? According to my calculations the Saudi mega-palace should be somewhere to the left of the flour mill near the lakefront.

Well, thanks to a neighbor down the street I find the main entrance to the palace. See the black plaque on the right near the guard building? It reads "Villa de L'Aube"--which means "dawn villa". After snapping this picture a guard comes out. I ask if this place belongs to the King of Saudi Arabia. He says he's not allowed to give out any information and says I'm not allowed to take photos. Seeing as how I've already taken pictures, I elect not to get in an argument with him and point out the fact I'm standing on a public street.

I decide to cycle around the perimeter of the complex and see if I can get a glimpse of the mega-mansion. It's heavily wooded and walls prevent you from seeing much.