About :
Shadda Palace is one of the most prominent historical landmarks in Abha, and many travellers come to see it to learn about the ancient architecture of the Asir region. This palace was built in 1927 for the use of a Saudi prince.
Currently, the palace contains a variety of different and wonderful handicrafts in addition to household items.
History of Shadda Palace
The history of Al-Shadda Palace begins with King Abdulaziz's capture of Riyadh in 1901, when he built a palace on this site from which he governed for more than 30 years. He supervised military and political campaigns for the conquest and unification of the Arabian Peninsula through the palace, and the palace remained the seat of the national government until his death in 1953.
The palace was built on an area of 11,500 square metres, which is a very huge area, and when it was built at that time it was considered one of the largest in the entire city of Riyadh in terms of area, as the buildings at that time were very traditional and built of mud bricks surrounded only by a wall.
This palace has been built and renovated almost three times during the last century alone, and the last of these renovations was during the last eighties, which was supervised by the king at that time during his reign, and has now been converted into the home of the capital's municipal government.
Since the second Saudi kingdom in the middle of the nineteenth century, the Al-Shadda Palace has been a palace for the government, and the term "The Al-Shadda Palace" derives from justice (Al-Adel in Arabic), and its name implies the palace of Justice.
Construction of Al Shadda Palace
The palace was built by Prince Ayed bin Meri in 1249:1273 Hijri and is considered one of the most important and famous historical and archaeological sites in the city of Abha; it is one of the monuments that many tourists and visitors want to visit to enjoy the ancient traditional building that carries with it the ancient history.
When you visit the palace, you will find it standing tall with glory and history, unlike the high-rise and modern buildings now, as you will find the curved structure made of mud walls, which are glimpses of the past of the ancient Saudi state.
When you visit the palace, you will notice something extremely peculiar about it, which is the lack of windows for the palace, but the objective of building a palace without windows was to preserve the privacy of the women and her inviolability to be seen at that time.
Features of Al-Shadda Palace
When Al-Shadda Palace was built in 1927, it was intended to be the centre of government at that time, to be a reflection of the form of architecture in the state of Saudi Arabia at that time.
However, the palace today houses a vast amount of cultural and traditional handicrafts that show Saudi Arabian culture, as well as household goods and old coins, as well as manuscripts and photographs that depict life in Abha in the past.
Therefore, it is necessary to visit this ancient heritage building and you will enjoy exploring a lot of the ancient historical civilization, as it is one of the few old buildings in Abha that still stand until this day.
And finally, why not have a great time going back in time to see what a wonderful palace this was.