User:Mmasudtu/Shubra palace

Shubra Palace is the regional museum of Ta'if, located in a building of around 1900, which served King Abdul Aziz as a lodging in the 1930s. The palace was a summer meeting place for the council of ministers during the reign of King Faisal. During the early 80' of 14th century Hijra, the palace witnessed several activities and important events. It was transferred into the offices of the Council of Ministers by late King Faisal. When King Faisal was the Crown Prince the meetings of the Council of Ministers used to held in this palace during the summer, and even when he became the King, the palace remained as his summer office and the Center for the meetings of the Council of Ministers.

 History 

The Shubra was an agricultural area, roughly rectangular in shape which spread from the northern side of Bab al-Hazam to the site of the palace and northward from it. Shubra consisted of three palaces, each of which was prominent and unique in its style, designing and planning from the others. There was an old Shubra palace to the east of the present palace; to the extreme south from this palace there was al-Bihat palace. These palaces with the time were demolished and became ruins. The present palace took its name after the name of the palace (Shubra) where it was built. This unique historic palace became famous for its prominent architectural designing in all over Hejaz and the historical events it had witnessed in the past.

 Historical Events: 

It is considered as one of the important historic palaces in the Hejaz area which has witnessed prominent events and played an important role in the history of the region. It was built on the orders of Sharif Ali Pasha in 1323AH.

Sultan Waheeduddin Mohammad (6th) one of the Ottomans rulers lived in this palace after he was removed as a Sultan. When Hejaz was conquered by late King Abdulaziz bin Abdurlrahman al-Saud, he used to live here during summer. The palace witnessed some important historic events. The founder of the Kingdom welcomed his son King Saud after his successful battle in Yemen. He was warmly welcomed and celebration took place in front of the gate of the palace. After the death of His Roal Highness Prince Mansour bin Abdulaziz, the first Minister of defence, His Royal Highness Prince Mishal binAbdulaziz transferred the Ministry of defense and Aviation offices from the house of Shaikh Abdullah al-Samairi to the Shubra Palace ( the old Ministry was located near al-Qishla palace). His Royal Highness Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Second Depty, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Defense Minister and Inspector General used this palace as his office until 1402 AH, after that the offices of His Royal Highness were transferred to the new building.

 Construction and Design  The palace is located outside the wall of the old city of Taif at the northeastern part of it. It took over two year to built the palace. The palace is unique in its construction and design and contains both Islamic and Roman architectural elements. Lot of money and efforts was spent on its construction and material was brought from Italy and Turkey while local stones from the nearby hills were also used in the building. The best Arab and Turkish labors and technicians were involved in its construction. Some historians wrote that the location of the palace was chosen due to its high ground, large number of gardens and abundance of water in the area. The palace consists of an underground level above which four floors were built, each floor is identical in its planning, designing and even in the size of each room. The ground on which the palace was built is rectangular in shape and in north-south oriented. Each floor is divided into a northern and a southern section and their planning and construction is similar on all the four floors of the palace. To the north and southeastern side of the palace are still preserved some annexed old buildings while the old eastern annexed portion of the palace is totally demolished and is replaced by some new buildings. The garden of the palace is located at its southern façade.