Fear and terrorism stalk the land but the Bedouin tradition of open court dies hard in Saudi Arabia where hundreds flock to seek the personal intercession of Crown Prince Abdullah to solve their troubles.
Outside the great gilded halls, the guard has been more than doubled.
Armoured vehicles lurk among the palm trees, and gun-toting national guardsmen patrol every inch of the huge garden compound that the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom calls home.
But for all the appearance of tight security, imposed since 12 Saudi suicide bombers blew up at least 23 people in the capital on May 12, no one is frisked and access remains open to all Saudis of good will, as well as an occasional foreigner with a cause.
Young and old, fit and infirm, rich and poor pour into the magnificent majlis palace for an audience followed by supper with the 81-year-old prince in a spectacle that must have been common in the Medieval castles of Europe.
But in the absence of elected representation, the practice is still very much a part of everyday life in the kingdom of tribes into which Washington wants to breathe an air of Western democracy.
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz throws open the gates at least twice a week to hear the complaints, demands and stories of his people. Other senior princes do the same, while their wives offer an outlet for women.
It's up close and personal despite the sparkling setting from the Versailles school of grandiose regal architecture.
"Many come just to shake hands with the Crown Prince," said protocol chief Mohammad al-Tubichi.
"Others have a petition, a request for assistance.
"Up to 1,000 people can be accommodated," on Tuesday evenings, while more "serious cases" are dealt with on Saturdays at the official residence.
A frisson runs through the gathering and everyone stands up as the prince strides in at the head of a retinue of dozens and settles into a throne-like seat, wafted by incense.
An invocation to God opens proceedings before Abdullah rises to his feet to offer a handshake and word of acknowledgement to a couple of dozen dignitaries before getting down to the night's real business.
Courtiers jostle the surging crowd into something resembling a queue, constantly shouting "handshake only". Those tempted to launch into a dialogue are politely but firmly ushered away.
Petitions are handed in, sifted and their holders allowed to return to take a seat and explain their case individually to the prince. Aides are called to follow up problems and no complaints are heard.
"They ask for electricity to be connected to their village, for a road to be built, for hospital treatment," confides Dr. Abdurrahman al-Said, a senior adviser to the prince.
Over supper, half-a-dozen "nabati", or local, poets cum-petitioners are granted time to air publicly their views or grievances.
In booming stage voices, one requests a house, another explains why he needs a Lexus four-wheel drive, a third has a problem which he fails to outline.
"Terrorism is like a blind donkey stumbling around," waxes one petitioner, recalling the dangers the kingdom faces, and raising an eyebrow from the prince.
Such scenes offer an insight into the workings of what outsiders consider a closed kingdom, but which Abdullah is pushing along a path of economic and social reform, balancing conservative Muslim tradition with the need to modernise.
The Saudi royal family can wield total power over the daily lives of their subjects, as the majlis illustrates.
But at the same time this is kept in check by a continuous consultative process between the thousands of princes and rulers, the government, and tribal and business leaders.
When it works the result, senior figures like to explain, is a consensus between rulers and ruled.
However, post-September 11 and following the May blasts, the kingdom has been forced to tackle a strong current of discontent among a fringe of Islamic radicals backing Osama bin Laden and who want to sweep aside the royal family and return to a so-called pure Islam.
"Terrorism and killing of innocent people have nothing to do with the Islamic faith," Abdullah reiterated Tuesday, urging the people to support the security services.
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