Let me explain
Masmak Palace was built in 1282 AH (1865 AD) during the reign of Imam Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki to defend Riyadh, with sturdy walls, gun slits and a single main entrance, according to the Saudi Press Agency. In 1319 AH (1902 AD) King Abdulaziz recaptured it in the Battle to Recapture Riyadh. The building materials are local: mud bricks of clay mixed with straw on stone foundations, mud plaster on the walls, gypsum on columns and doorways, and roofs of tamarisk wood and palm fronds covered with mud. The design is defensive: each corner has a cylindrical tower about 18 m high with walls about 1.25 m thick and firing positions. In the centre a square tower called Al-Murabba'ah overlooks the palace. The west gate is made of palm and tamarisk trunks, 3.60 m high and 2.65 m wide, with a narrow opening called Al-Khokha that lets only one person through, bending down. The palace opened as a museum in 1995, and the Museums Commission reopened it in July 2025 after restoration. What it means for engineers: protection came from the design itself: thick walls, corner towers and a narrow gate, all in local materials. Which element protected Masmak best: the towers, the thick walls or the narrow gate?