Taif
Al-Kateb Palace stands in al-Salamah, outside the line of Taif's old wall. It was built over about three years from 1897 under the supervision of Muhammad Ali…
Al-Kateb Palace stands in al-Salamah, outside the line of Taif's old wall. It was built over about three years from 1897 under the supervision of Muhammad Ali Abdulwahid, secretary to Sharif Awn al-Rafiq of Makkah, which gave the house its name, the scribe's palace. Prince Faisal ibn Abdulaziz, later King Faisal, rented it as his summer residence for more than twenty years while viceroy of the Hijaz and added its third floor. The three-storey stone house blends Hijazi building with Ottoman and European touches, with stone columns, carved wooden windows and stone, plaster and terracotta ornament of plants and animals, set around a courtyard garden. It has been under restoration in recent years to house the Taif History Centre, and it is about 600 metres from Kaki Palace.