Tabuk Castle ( ar, قلعة تبوك, ''qalʿat tabūk'') is an ancient castle in

Tabuk Tabuk may refer to: *Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital city of Kalinga province of the Philippines *Tabuk Province, a province of Saudi Arabia **Tabuk, Saudi Arabia Tabuk ( ar, تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is the capital city of the Tab ...

, the capital city of the

Tabuk Region Tabuk ( ar, مِنْطَقَة تَبُوْك '), also spelled ''Tabouk'', is a region of Saudi Arabia, located along the north-west coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 91 ...

in northwestern

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

which dates back to 1559. The castle has been rehabilitated and transformed into a museum open to all visitors.

History

Although it is believed that castle was built about 3500 BC and mentioned in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

as of ''Aṣḥāb al-Aykah'' ( ar, أَصْـحَـاب الْأَيْـكَـة "Companions of the Wood"), the known origin dates back to 1559. It was constructed to protect the water station as well as for security and surveillance purposes and was one of the stations on the Levant-Medina Haj road to welcome the pilgrims.

Structure

The castle consists of two stories connected by a stairway and encompassing a mosque and various rooms where the second floor involves an open mosque.{{Portal, Saudi Arabia

References

__FORCETOC__ Castles in Saudi Arabia Tourist attractions in Saudi Arabia