Desert Castles of Jordan
Jordan's desert palaces
Jordan's desert palaces are a beautiful reflection of the early days of Islamic architecture and arts. These palaces still stand in their place, telling their tales of that glorious era that enriched Jordan's history. With their mosaics, murals, stone and plaster sculptures, and paintings, inspired by the most prominent Persian, Roman, and Greek traditions, they tell us about life in the 8th century AD. They are called palaces because of their imposing structure.
In fact, these desert buildings served a variety of purposes: they were caravan stops, agricultural and trade centers, refuges, and military outposts that helped rulers in distant regions establish relations with the Bedouins of the region. You can visit many of these buildings, which are still preserved today, most of them located east and south of Amman, in a day or two.
Qasr al-Mushatta is an Umayyad desert palace built by Caliph al-Walid bin Yazid in 744 AD, located 32 km southeast of the capital, Amman.
Ajloun Castle was built in the 12th century during the reign of Saladin. The castle is located on Mount Awf at an altitude of 1250 meters above sea level, 68 km north of the capital Amman.
Tuba Palace is found around 140 kilometers to the southeast of the Amman City and was constructed under the authority of Umayyad caliph, Al-Walid bin Yazid in the year 743 AD.
Located at a distance of 55 km east of the capital city of Amman, Al-Harana Palace was constructed prior to the onset of the eight century during the rule of Caliph Al-Walid Bin Abdul Malik.
Qasr Amra is situated 85 kilometers to the east of Amman city and constitutes an early eight century edifice of the Umayyad Caliph Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik. It comprises of a reception hall and a bath hall next to it, and it also served as a stronghold and a residence for the Umayyad Caliphs. Qasr Amra has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and such as wall and ceiling paintings, with the floors being provisioned with the art of mosaic, it is one of the great artworks and archite1303 controlarcha modern buldings aside considerations.
