Saudi Arabia · 19th century
Al Masmak Palace (Arabic: قصر المصمك, romanized: Qaṣr al-Maṣmak), also called the Masmak Fortress or Masmak Fort, is a historic clay and mudbrick fort in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located in close proximity to the al-Hukm Palace in the Qasr al-Hukm District. Commissioned in 1865 by Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud, it was completed in 1895 following the takeover of the town by the Rashidi dynasty. The fortress was the main theatre for the Battle of Riyadh in 1902, which marked the prelude to the unification of Saudi Arabia. It was opened to the general public in 1995 after its conversion into a museum.
Text adapted from “Al Masmak Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Masmak Fort ranks #754 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #2 of the 21 mapped in Saudi Arabia. Founded 1865, it is older than 6% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 717 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,265 times in the last 60 days, more than 87% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Saudi Arabia compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →