Jordan's desert castles

Scattered throughout the desert east of Amman are a number of castles, which constitute the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture to be found anywhere in the Middle East.

The castles were built in the 7::SUP and 8::SUP centuries AD by caliphs of the Ummayyad dynasty, who constructed them as both palace retreats and as fortification.

Travelling from Amman, the first of these to be reached is Qasr Hallabat, first used as a second century Roman fort and later rebuilt in the third century by the Emperor Caracalla. Later, between 709 and 743AD, the Ummayyads virtually demolished the Roman buildings in their entirety and rebuilt an extensive complex including a castle, mosque and bath-house. These buildings have fine decorations of mosaic, carved stucco woodwork and frescoes, many of which have been removed for safe-keeping. The site is not yet fully restored.

Qasr Azraq is a castle built of basalt, located in the middle of the Azraq oasis, about 100km east of Amman. It was originally constructed as a Nabataean or Roman fort and was later rebuilt by the Mamelukes in the 13::SUP century. T.E. Lawrence used the castle as his headquarters while fighting in the Arab Revolt and his office was in the room above the entrance gatehouse.

The Azraq oasis contains the only permanent source of fresh water in the surrounding 12 thousand square miles of desert and, in consequence, attracts a large number of birds en route for migration destinations. Part of the area is now protected as a wetlands reserve. Although up to 300 bird species were recorded visitors during the 1970s, this number has declined drastically, due to the pumping of water from the oasis to supply an ever-increasing demand in Amman.

The most famous of the desert castles is Qasr Amra. This was built by the Ummayyads as a pleasure and sporting retreat and contains an early 8::SUP century baths complex in a triple-vaulted building full of colourfully painted frescoes. Although somewhat scarred by time, these frescoes depict dancing women and the then-abundant animal life of the desert area. The original well and underground water system can still be seen here.

Qasr Kharanah is yet another imposing fortress built by the Ummayyads, once thought to have been constructed for defence purposes. It is perhaps more likely that it was a former caravanserai, where camel caravans pulled in to break their journey.

The thick-walled structure has two floors of living space topped by an open-roofed area and is built around a courtyard. The windows are narrow, arrow-slots and these open in all directions, lending considerable credence to the fortress theory, although many historians feel that they would have offered insufficient field of fire to archers and are more likely to have been used for light and ventilation. Decorations are few, but some frescoes are to be found in the upper rooms.

Qasr Mushatta

Qasr Mushatta was once a true palace, but it is in the poorest state of repair of all the desert castles. Situated near the Queen Alia International airport, it is a huge square walled enclosure with round towers at the corners, five semi-circular ones and a monumental gateway on the south side. This was once embellished with lavish carvings, but these were given away in 1903 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II to the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm had them sent to Berlin, where they can now be seen in the Pergamum Museum. A few delicate carvings remain; some lying on the ground where they fell.