Desert castle

The desert castles include a number of smaller castles and forts that are scattered over the desert in the east of Jordan. Most of the surviving castles lie east of the capital Amman.

History

The castles were between the 7th and 8th centuries, mainly built in 660-750 during the reign of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty, which had made 661 Damascus their new capital. Function and purpose is not finally resolved until today. They probably served as defense systems to agricultural and economic purposes, as meeting the Bedouins ( between themselves and with the Governor of the Umayyads ), as Badiyas ( reclining seats of noblemen ) or as caravanserais. The facilities were partly built on the remains of old buildings, partially rebuilt.

Similar structures are also found in Palestine and Syria, such as the palace of Hisham near Jericho, Khirbat al - Minya the plant on the Sea of ​​Galilee, as well as Qasr al - Heir ash- Scharqi in the Syrian desert. The Umayyad palace grounds provide impressive examples of early Islamic art and architecture dar.

Building

Most of the buildings are now destroyed, mainly due to the frequent earthquakes. Among the best preserved include:

• Qasr Al- Qastal, about 25 km south of Amman
• Qasr Al- Muwaqqar, about 30 kilometers south of Amman
• Mshatta, about 35 km southeast of Amman
• Qasr Hammam Assarah, about 55 km north-east of Amman
• Qasr Hallabat, about 60 km northeast of Amman
• Qasr Kharana, about 65 kilometers east of Amman
• Quseir Amra, about 85 kilometers east of Amman
• Qasr Tuba, about 95 km south-east of Amman
• Qasr al - Azraq, some 100 km east of Amman