Masmak Fort Riyadh

Masmak in Arabic means thick and high construction, it is a clay and mud-brick fort located in the center of Riyadh, it was built in 1895 by Prince Abdul Rahman ibn Dabaan. The gate of the fort is situated on the western side, made by trunks of palm trees, the gate is 3.60 m high, and 2.65 m wide, and 10 cm thick, with three beams of 25 cm thick, there is an opening on the center of the door, called al-Khokha, which is just big enough for one person to pass at a time, and is a defensive feature designed to allow people in and out without opening the door. Masmak fort is one of the few remaining original buildings of Riyadh, it has been used as a warehouse for ammunition and weapons after conquering Riyadh, until it was decided to turn it into a heritage landmark, representing a stage of founding Saudi Arabia.
There are four cylindrical shape towers in the four corners of the building,each one is around 18 meters high, you can reach them using stairs then using additional two wooden ladders.
In each tower there are places all around for darts throwing, the towers have walls of about 1.25 m thick, in the center of Masmak, a square tower, called “Al Marba’a”, overlooking the palace through the upper balcony. There is also a main courtyard for the palace, surrounded by rooms which have inter-connected columns, in the eastern side of the courtyard you will find stairs leading to the first floor and the roof, also, there are three residential units in the palace, the first was used for the governor; since it is integrated and interconnected, the second one was used as state treasury, and the third one was dedicated for the guests.