Murabba Palace

Coordinates: 24°38′47″N 46°42′33″E / 24.6465°N 46.7093°E / 24.6465; 46.7093
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Murabba Palace
King Abdulaziz
Technical details
Size9,844.64 m2
Design and construction
EngineerIbn Qabba

The Murabba Palace (

walls of the old city.[1] It was named after its square with the form of 400 by 400 metres (1,300 by 1,300 ft).[2]
It is one of the museums in the city.

History

Murabba Palace, 1980

The palace was built by

concrete road was constructed which was also new in the city.[7] In 1939 electricity, lighting, fans, limited air-conditioning, a central water supply and lavatories were added by the Aramco technicians to the palace.[5]

The king left his former court in

Masmak fort when the construction was finished,[8] and used the palace as his residence and court from 1938 until his death in 1953.[9] One of his wives, Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, also moved with him to the palace in 1938.[10] Another palace, Addeera, was also used as a royal residence.[4]

During the reign of King Abdulaziz Murabba Palace witnessed many official visits and sign of various agreements.[11] A lift was installed into the Murabba Palace in the late 1940s when the king had difficulty in climbing the stairs due to advanced arthritis.[8] It was the first lift in Saudi Arabia.[8] The king appointed one of his sons, Prince Mansour, as emir of the palace.[12]

King Abdulaziz's successor,

King Saud, also used the palace for official activities. For instance, he inaugurated the council of ministers with a ceremony in the Murabba Palace on 7 March 1954.[13]

Location

The Murabba palace is situated two kilometers north of the old city of Riyadh, and its total area was over 16 hectares.[5][14] The area of the palace was later expanded to 30 hectares.[5] In a study dated 2021 the size of the palace is cited as 9,844.64 m2.[15]

The palace is located about half a mile from Masmak fort.[9] The area of the palace was called Murabba Al Sufyan.[16] In the south of the palace there are gardens, and the Batha valley is situated in the east.[16] Wadi Abu Rafie is in the west, and small hills lie on the north of the palace.[16]

Murabba Palace is very close to Al Shamsia mansion which was the residence of

Saud Al Kabeer and his wife Noura bint Abdul Rahman, elder sister of King Abdulaziz.[17] In the 1950s the Murabba Palace was connected to Al Nasriyah Farm which is in fact a rural palace in the west of old Riyadh through a stone road.[1]

Layout and style

The building is a complex of palaces used for different purposes, housing two stories with 32 rooms.[16] Overall shape of the building is cubic.[18] It is made up of residential buildings, service facilities and the diwan of the king.[6] These buildings are surrounded by a courtyard.[19] A huge brick wall also surrounds the palace, and there are nine gates.[11] The main gate was originally on the west side, but, later the gate on the southern side was used as main entrance which allowed a short link to the nearby mosque.[4]

The upper floor of the building used for court of the king included audience hall, offices of administrative affairs, communications and guest chambers.[16] The ground floor housed the offices for palace utilities, security and administration.[16]

The building has a plain style[6] and reflects the general features of the traditional Najdi architecture.[4] It also reflects the general characteristics of Najd's urban pattern, namely solid masses, covered streets, and the integration of courtyards.[2] The palace was built mainly by bricks, indigenous stones, tamarisk trunk and palm-leaf stalks.[16] The walls of the building were made by straw reinforced adobe, and have engraved ornaments on coating.[4] Local acacia with palm frond matts was used for the ceiling of the palace.[4] The wood beams supporting the ceiling have decorations with yellow, red, and black geometric patterns.[4]

Current usage

A development project was initiated by the

King Abdulaziz Historical Center.[6][23]

In the current usage, the ground floor includes the guards' room and stores for food, coffee, wood and other materials needed for cooking.[23] The upper floor is made up of salons and waiting rooms for visitors.[23] There several historic garments and crafts are exhibited.[24] There are also the King Abdulaziz memorial hall and a written and photographic archive centre in the building.[8]

One of the dignitaries welcomed at the Murabba Palace was

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Murabba Palace.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^
    hdl:2445/113737
    .
  2. ^ a b c d Saleh Al Hathloul (21 April 2002). "Riyadh Architecture in One Hundred Years". Center of the Study of Built Environment. Amman. Archived from the original (Public lecture) on 25 March 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Experience to discover". Saudi Tourism. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Al Murabba Palace (Saudi Arabia)". IRCICA. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  5. ^
    JSTOR 24720019
    .
  6. ^ a b c d "King Abdulaziz Historical Center". ArRiyadh City. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  7. S2CID 181899287
    .
  8. ^ a b c d "Murabba Palace Historical Centre". Simbacom. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Rebirth of a historic center". Saudi Embassy Magazine. Spring 1999. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013.
  10. ^ Kholoud Al Abdullah (23 September 2014). "سعوديات خلدهن التاريخ". Rouge Magazine (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "The Murabba Palace". Whatafy. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  12. ISSN 0024-3019
    .
  13. ProQuest 303285259
    .
  14. ISBN 978-0-415-41156-1
    .
  15. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.14546634
    .
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Murabba Palace: The historical divan of King Abdul Aziz". Arab News. Jeddah. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  17. JSTOR 4323104
    .
  18. ^ a b "Murabba Palace". CIAH. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  19. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1
    .
  20. ^ Faleh Al Dhuyabi; Majed Al Mufadhali (11 March 2010). "SCTA takes over Al Saqqaf Palace". Saudi Gazette. Jeddah/Mecca. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  21. ^ "King Abdulaziz Historical Centre". ArchNet. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  22. ISBN 978-0-8225-1958-4
    .
  23. ^ a b c "Al Murabba'a Historical Palace, Riyadh". Aol Travel. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Riyadh. Murabba Palace". Meet Saudi Arabia. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  25. ^ Mohammed Al Sudairi (13 September 2017). "Some Observations on the Significance of President Xi Jinping's Visit and the Problem of the Sino-Saudi Relationship" (Commentary). King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
  26. ^ "U.S. President Trump in Saudi Arabia for 1st visit abroad". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

External links

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