User:FunwithCalt/Salwa Palace

Salwa Palace is an archaeological palace located in the north of Al- Diriyah in Riyadh region, central Saudi Arabia.

Description
The palace is the seat of the princes and imams of the Al Saud throughout the rule of the first Saudi state. It is located in the locality of Salwa in the northeastern side of Al-Tarif neighborhood, at the front of the neighborhood. The northern part of the palace is bordered by Wadi Hanifa (valley), the eastern part by Bayt Al-Mal (financial institution), the western part by Imam Abdullah bin Saud`s mosque and the palaces of his brothers the princes: Fahd and Ibrahim and other sons of Imam Saud, and as well as the well is located in the northwestern side. The palace is regarded as the largest palaces of the city of Al-Diriyah in the Najd region. Its area is more than 10,000 square meters. It is made up of seven architectural units built in successive stages that started since the era of Prince Muhammad bin Saud bin Muqrin, the founder of the state First Saudi Arabia, and most parts of the palace were destroyed.

The components of the palace
From studying what remains of the palace, it becomes clear that it is composed of the following:

The first unit:
is located in the northeastern corner of the palace with an area of 690 m. Its entrance is located in the southwestern side, and it consists of two similar buildings, each of them is centred by a large hall surrounded by three rooms, and has a ladder that reaches the second floor and the tower that is on the eastern side. The unit is located in front of the valley, so holes was made for it.

The second unit:
is an area of 785 m. It was established during the era of Imam Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud. It has two entrances, a northern entrance and an eastern one. As for the northern entrance, it leads to a large hall divided and subsequently used as storage units. The

other entrance was distinguished by its decorative units and the jagged balconies on top of the building.

The third unit:
is an area of 245 m consisting of three floors with an entrance from the eastern side that leads to the three rooms, the largest of which is the central. Many amendments has made after Imam Saud Al-Kabeer settled in after his father, Imam Abdulaziz bin Muhammad.

The fourth unit:
is an area of 445 m, consists of three floors, and its entrance is in the eastern side. The first floor consists of three rooms, all the facades of this unit are full of decorations, and there is also a tower in the eastern corner of this unit.

The fifth Unit:
It was built in the middle of the fourteenth century AH, where it was built on the ruins of the archaeological neighborhood "Al- Turaif", which had previously been abandoned after the destruction of Al-Diriyah in 1232 AH.

The sixth unit:
is an area of 720 m, divided into three dwellings, each of which has a private entrance. The quality of the building and architectural implementation has been taken into account.

The seventh unit:
It consists of two parts which area is estimated to be 1100 m. The first part was used as dwelling un=l the end of the fourteenth century AH, and modifications were made to it, which concealed its first features. The other part is less space than the first part, and the first architectural features were clearly distinguished during its construction period.