al-Faqir Fort
قلعة الفقير
Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia
The fort viewed from the southern portion
TypeFort
Site information
ConditionRuins
Site history
Built18th century
Built byOttoman Dynasty
Materialsstone and brick

Al-Faqir Fort (Arabic: قلعة الفقير) is an 18th-century fort situated in the Levantine pilgrimage route on a small hilltop in the southern portion of modern-day Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia. The fort takes a squared form with round towers, three of which are standing while the southern one was completely destroyed.[1] The fort occupies 340 m2 with approximate height of slightly over 6 m tall walls, that appears to be originally two-storey structure supported by wooden beams.[2]

Most of the interior walls, ceilings, and stairs of the fort were destroyed. Nothing left except for the walls and towers along with small interior remains.

Building materials and history

The fort was originally known in historical documents as the fort of al-Hafa'ir. It was built by the Ottoman dynasty to facilitate the pilgrimage process and to protect the pilgrims in their journey to the holy sites.

Varieties of materials were used during the construction, primarily local limestones and sandstones (also schist and gneiss) additional to the employment of bricks on the upper levels and in different parts of the structure.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ alsahra
  2. ↑ تسجيل وتوثيق مبنى قلعة الفقير مع دراسة وتقييم مظاهر التلف الانشائي بها وتوصيات بأعمال الترميم - محافظة العلا - المملكة العربية السعودية p. 362 - 368
  3. ↑ تسجيل وتوثيق مبنى قلعة الفقير مع دراسة وتقييم مظاهر التلف الانشائي بها وتوصيات بأعمال الترميم - محافظة العلا - المملكة العربية السعودية p. 366 - 367
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