Wooden lattices
On four matching facades.
Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Richard Mortel — CC BY 2.0 · Mmasudtu — CC BY-SA 4.0
A four-storey historic palace in central Taif. It began in 1858 as a two-storey house and was rebuilt around 1905 by Ali Pasha, Sharif of Mecca, who named it after Muhammad Ali's palace at Shubra El Kheima, north of Cairo. King Abdulaziz used it as a summer residence after Taif came under Saudi rule; two of his sons were born here and he died here in 1953. King Faisal later used it as a summer residence too, and it also served as the office of Crown Prince Sultan. It became a museum in 1995. The palace has four matching facades with projecting wooden lattice windows, some 150 rooms, a large wooden staircase in the main hall and floors of Italian Carrara marble. The museum covers the palace's history and shows stone carvings, pottery and inscriptions, with a section on distilling Taif rose water and oil and another on the old market. Museum hours vary and it may close for maintenance, so check times and prices before you go; the white facades can be admired from outside at any time.
On four matching facades.
Italian Carrara marble.
Distilling rose water and oil.
Shubra Street, central Taif
It was rebuilt around 1905 under Ali Pasha, Sharif of Mecca, then served King Abdulaziz and later King Faisal as a summer residence; King Abdulaziz died here in 1953, and it became a museum in 1995.
