Tower of Mud

[Chris of Arabia]

Seriously. This tower near the King's Farm outside Riyadh and been there for some time now and is built of mud and straw. Inside, it has a perfectly serviceable stairway and has four levels including the roof top, though these levels show considerable evidence of having been used by birds and bats as a roost.


#1

#2

 

[abraxas]

Cool- that first shot is incredible!

 

[SympL]

I really like that first image as well. The ridgeline makes a terrific lead-in.
Well done.

 

[ChrisOquist]

I would love to see pictures of the inside!

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Whilst it's easy enough to get inside (I stood on the roof for a while taking a few shots), it's actually very dark inside there and incredibly small, so photographing the interior would be a bit of a challenge. I might give it a go though - would be interesting to see what I could make of it.

 

[LaFoto]

The tones are perfect!
(And Chris: aren't you always up for a little photographical challenge? And I'm already sure you'll master that one, too!)
What use had these towers when they were still in use?

 

[kundalini]

Well done Chris. As SympL stated, the leading lines of the ridge is spot on.

Any idea of the tower's age?

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Saudi Arabian history is often a little difficult to pin down with any great accuracy, as the culture is one of verbal story telling rather than anything written down. The chances are that the tower is no more than 100-150 years old and may not even be that. As with any mud brick building, once it's passed out of use, they will tend to disintegrate within a fairly short span of time. The Riyadh area didn't become highly populated until quite late into the 20th century following the discovery of oil in 1938. Up until that point, all there would have been would have been mud brick buildings, particularly at Al-Diriyah which was the capital of King Saud before the development of Riyadh. As to it's use, I can only believe that it was used as a watch tower for the settlement around 3/4 mile distant. It seems too small for a dwelling, though it might have been possible. The settlement now is very much a modern construction built in a similar style to this tower with crenelated walls and [square rather than round] towers. Though I've not been in there, it would seem that it is some sort of open air museum, a bit like some of the historic settlements you might find in the US. Is that enough for now?

 

[Chris of Arabia]

I know this is the B+W section, but thought I'd post these few shots of the settlement I mentioned in the previous post. Gives you a much better idea of what I'm referring to.

#1

#2

#3

The sand dunes you can see in the distance in #2 with be infested with quad bikers and 4x4's trying themselves out. At this time of year when it's cooler, the whole area is a magnet for Saudi's who want to let their hair down.

Having looked again, #1 is more likely to be someone's 'farm' than a settlement - it's off in a different direction from the one shown in 2 & 3.

 

[Artograph]

Wow, very cool.....love the very 1st pic!!!!

:O)

 

[LaFoto]

Thanks a lot for all the explanation, Chris. Much, much, MUCH appreciated! (I know so little about The Magic Kingdom).