More foreign leaders have flocked to Saudi Arabia to pay their respects to King Salman, as the normally gridlocked streets of Riyadh turned quiet on a day of mourning for his predecessor Abdullah.
Singapore's Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean arrived, as did Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, and Libya's internationally-recognised Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani.
From across the Arab and Muslim worlds, from Europe, Asia, and America, presidents, prime ministers and sheikhs have flown in to express condolences.
It is a recognition of the Islamic kingdom's power as the world's leading oil exporter, a political heavyweight in a region threatened by extremist violence, and as home to Islam's holiest sites.
Salman, 79, acceded to the throne on Friday after Abdullah's death at the age of about 90.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
US President Barack Obama announced he would cut short a visit to India to travel to the kingdom on Tuesday.
Salman, a half-brother of Abdullah who reigned for almost a decade, declared Sunday a nationwide holiday "to provide comfort and facilitation to all citizens in offering condolences" and allegiance to the new monarch, the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Dignitaries greeted Salmon and his heir Crown Prince Moqren, 69, on Saturday night at Al-Yamamah Palace, the royal court.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Shi'ite-dominated Iran was among the guests, making a rare visit as Tehran tries to improve relations with its Sunni regional rival.
Both Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko joined the well-wishers, even as pro-Kremlin rebels announced a major new offensive on a strategic government-held Ukrainian port.
Away from the palace and nearby roadblocks, life continued with shops open and almost no indication a new era had begun, except for billboards expressing condolences for Abdullah's death.
