Masmak Fort is important in Saudi history and a showcase of doors
Main door with al-khokha
Imagine the spear tip just near the bottom and to the right of the X
Last week, we spent hours roaming through the Masmak Fort, a clay and mud brick structure in the heart of Riyadh.
Built in 1865 for prince ‘Abdurrahman ibn Sulaiman AlDabaan, the fort played an integral role in the nation’s history. The Battle of Riyadh, one of the most important conflicts leading to the reunification of Saudi Arabia, took place in the fort in 1902.
Since 1995 it has been a museum, covering the battle and many other aspects of Saudi history.
You are most welcome to look up details of the battle (way too much information to report here), but I want to share the doors. I have never seen so many different doors in one building.
The first pic shows the gate at the entrance. The rectangular opening in the lower part of the main door is called an al-khokha. It is just big enough for one person to pass at a time, and is a defensive feature designed to allow people in and out without opening the door. The second pic is a close-up of the al-khokha. The guide showed us the tip of a spear stuck in the door just to the right of the al-khokha. It’s a remnant of the battle in 1902, but impossible to photograph. Pretend you can see it.
Window shutters
Some doors are plain, some are colourful, many are faded. Here’s a selection including one set of window shutters. There are very few captions.
Masmak Fort
Where to next? 
What a great collection. The first window shutter picture is my fav 🙂 Maggie
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The shutters are gorgeous.
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Very interesting Peggy. Yes the doors are magnificent..maybe there was a local contest!
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Anything is possible given the variety.
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Thanks for sharing this idea. Anita
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You are most welcome.
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A fascinating lesson to absorb and get away from nature trying to take over our lives in our part of Down Under . . . enjoy and thanks!
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I always like looking at doors. These were exceptionally interesting.
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What an interesting lot of doors. I think we westerners could do with a bit of door variation (and decoration). Makes the buildings much more interesting. 😀
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I’ll have to be on the lookout for interesting doors when I get home.
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Such beautiful doors and shutters! Love these!
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Me too. The shutters are especially creative.
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Old doors had character. Modern doors have uniformity. 🤔
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I should do more posts on doors. I have seen some amazing ones on our travels.
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A fantastic photo collection! I remember this fort from the last time I was in Riyadh but visits weren’t available then. Thanks for the tour.
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Delighted to be able to take you there.
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Showing someone the door has new perspective now. Lovely history of doors.
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I have loads of pics of doors from around the world. I should do more posts.
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I looked up the battle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Riyadh_(1902)
The doors are indeed fascinating, Peggy, and I didn’t even know there were castles in Saudi Arabia.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Saudi has been full of surprises.
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What amazing doors but surprisingly modern date. I thought they were going to date to the 11th century or older.
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There is a lot here that is much older.
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Thanks again Peggy for the wonderful and colorful narrative…
Sent from my iPhone
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The colourful doors are so gorgeous.
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Your photos are spectacular. I feel the warmth of sunshine through WIFI!
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It’s been hot enough here to come through the wifi.
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Fantastic doors. Absolutely wonderful. A huge fort as well. They remind me of doors in Pakistan particularly up north and in Morocco. Many early doors in Nepal and parts of India are similar. But, it astounds me that the fort was built in 1865. Are the doors contemporary?
I like the hint at defence. The fort wouldn’t survive against modern artillery in 1865. But, one gets the suspicion that they were worried about things much closer to home. Like the Shogunate in Japan.
Thanks
Tony
https://www.breadtagsagas.com/
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The doors were definitely old. Also according to the video re-enactment we saw at the fort, the early battles with spears, swords, simple rifles and hand-to-hand fighting.
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Dear Peggy,
Your exploration of the Masmak Fort is absolutely fascinating! The blend of history and architecture, particularly the diverse doors and the al-khokha, is captivating. It’s amazing how a simple element like a door can tell so much about a place’s past and culture. Thanks for sharing these insights and beautiful photographs!
Warm regards,
Mike
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Thanks so much Mike. The fort was amazing, and so much to take in. My head is still reeling from all the sights we’ve seen.
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Peggy, these are amazing photos from Arabia. A country whose history is not readily seen or known to me. Thank you!
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Thanks to you too. Lots more to come.
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Looking forward to your next journey.
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An interesting collection, for sure, and lovely patterns.
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Makes me think I should paint a door at my house.
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Not a bad idea! I also plan to paint our garage.. some day😊
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Just read an article about large lava tubes in the Middle East that were used by people 7000 ago. Remnants of some human and animal habitation recently were found. Also cave carvings of animals with stick figure people were there.
People were using them to escape the desert heat as living areas.
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Caves were an important way to escape the heat. I know of the lava tubes, but we haven’t visited them.
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These doors are fascinating! No wonder you took such pictures of them. x
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Doors fascinate me. Our glass front door is covered in dog nose prints.
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As it should be! How else do they get to smell the world, lol? I don’t remember that much with our own doors, but I do remember our big collie/lab doing that to the van windows that open at the side at an angle. The mucus spray on those things was gross and hilarious lol.
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Oh yeah, gross and hilarious.
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