The Haj Palace, an ancient grain silo, Libya.

The Haj Palace is an ancient round, fortified grain silo located in Libya, about 130 km from Tripoli on the road to Azizyah and Juf. It was built in the 7th century AH (13th century CE) by Abdullah Abu Jatlah. The structure was intended to serve the local families, who, in return, paid a quarter of their harvest. It is said that the owner of the silo endowed it and its income for the purpose of teaching the Quran and Islamic sciences to the local community. The building originally had 114 rooms, which is believed to symbolize the number of chapters (surahs) in the Quran—a view commonly held by the local villagers today. The number of rooms has now increased to 119 after 10 rooms were divided due to inheritance disputes, and 29 additional vaults were added.