Al-Qashla Palace attracts Hail rally visitors

About eight decades ago it was a military stronghold where armies were prepared and soldiers resided and trained. Now Al-Qashla Palace is an attraction for vistors who have come to attend the Hail International Rally. This historical building was constructed between 1941 and 1943 in the reign of the country’s founder King Abdul Aziz. The Al-Qashla Palace is a two-story rectangular-shaped building that is made of clay. It is built on an area of 20,000 square meter and it is 10 meter-high, 141 meter-wide with 193 pillars. Four square-shaped towers are erected in the center and another four, called the support towers, are erected on each of its sides. There are two entrances including the main one in the middle of the eastern front of the palace and the secondary one in the southern part of the building, which is currently used for the entry of visitors. The palace has 83 rooms on its ground floor and 59 on the first.
The name of the historical building that was constructed based on the Najdi Islamic style is of a Turkish-origin word that means “winter shelter” and was used in the Ottoman era for soldiers’ fortresses and residences in Hail.
The palace was used by King Abdul Aziz’s troops after he unified the country until 1955, after which it became a police headquarter until 1975. It then came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education’s then Antiquities and Museums Undersecretary, which restored it, decorated it and built more eight towers in it.