Riyadh
Masmak Fortress is a clay and mud-brick fort in the heart of old Riyadh, begun around 1865 under Imam Abdullah ibn Faisal and completed later in the century.…
Masmak Fortress is a clay and mud-brick fort in the heart of old Riyadh, begun around 1865 under Imam Abdullah ibn Faisal and completed later in the century. In January 1902 the young Abdulaziz ibn Abdulrahman, later King Abdulaziz, took the fort in a dawn raid, the event that began the founding of the present Saudi state. Four corner towers about 18 metres high, thick walls and a heavy palm-wood gate enclose a courtyard, a mosque, a well and the majlis. The fort opened as a museum in 1995 with displays on the unification of the kingdom, and entry is free. It stands in al-Dirah beside Qasr al-Hukm and the old souqs.