Palaces to visit Jordan

In this ancient and imposing 7th century private residence discovered in 1905, excavations revealed several portions of mosaics on the floor. The palace, located on the edge of an ancient Roman road, is believed to have burned down in the Byzantine period, possibly during the earthquake of 749, and was subsequently abandoned. Although almost no trace remains of the palace, with its vaulted halls and columns, the floors bear witness to the wealth of its owners. The mosaic in the hall depicts pastoral and hunting scenes and, at the entrance, a pair of sandals in a medallion. In the extension of the building are several rooms, all of which contain fragments of mosaic pavements that are more or less well preserved. The northern ones feature a statue of the goddess Tyche, the Greek goddess of good fortune, and a fragment of a creation representing the four seasons. In the room in the west wing, there is a succession of geometric designs forming an elegant floor carpet, with the centerpiece being a lion killing a bull.

Near the burnt-out palace, there are also the few remains of the Church of the Martyrs (Al-Khadir), dating from the 6th century. Its mosaic pavement was unfortunately heavily damaged during the height of the iconoclastic period led by the Umayyads and the following Muslim dynasties.

The impressive dimensions of the Qasr Mushatta are only found in the Qasr al Tuba, probably built by Al Walid II. This palace, which means "winter" in Arabic, is unfinished, probably because of the murder of Waldi II. Its plan is not organized around a central courtyard, but in three parts. The two unfinished side spaces were designed to house soldiers, servants or courtiers, while the central part housed the Caliph and his family. A mosque, identifiable by its mihrâb, leads to a large courtyard. Four housing units, known as bayt, which can be found in many Umayyad civil buildings, surround the throne room. Although Syrian in plan, they are also reminiscent of Sassanid Iran with their brick vaults, and may have served as the residence of the Caliph's four wives.

South facade.

Mushatta is also known for its rich decoration, especially its southern façade, a large part of which is displayed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. It consists of a band bordered by richly carved moldings and divided by a zigzag, perhaps deriving from Arab folk art motifs, with rosettes and vegetal elements, often animated by animal figures, real (felines, birds) or fantastic (griffins, centaurs...). Animals were already present in the ancient cylinder seals and then abundantly used in Christian art. Other motifs, such as birds, seem to be directly inspired by Coptic Egypt, where some artists came from. They rub shoulders with fantastic creatures: centaurs and sphinxes, which come from the classical culture that bathed the whole Mediterranean world before Islam, the Iranian "dragon-peacock" is linked, under the Sassanids, to astrology, to the Zoroastrian religion and to power. Originally a deity of Central Asia, this animal still often appears on medallions and talismans as a simple figure of prosperity. It was also often represented in the Byzantine world, and sometimes even on Romanesque works.

Some of the scrolls are decorated with beaded circles, reminiscent of Sassanian silks. Often copied by the Byzantines, these textiles were exported to Europe, where they were frequently used to wrap relics. The only human beings depicted are grape pickers as they are represented on some Roman mosaics or in the Qasr Amra. The vine with lions recalls the cult of Dionysus in antiquity and in Coptic Egypt. The pine cones of the rosettes would come from the figurative art of Sassanid Iran.

Your visit to Jordan can begin as soon as you leave the airport. The Qasr Al Qastal is located only 7 kilometers from the runways, on the road to Amman. It is one of the most important Umayyad complexes, built as early as the 8th century, and one of the first as well. Unlike many other desert castles, the Qar Al Qastal was not built on the ruins of a Roman fortress. In addition to the palace, it includes a mosque, a cemetery, baths, private dwellings, the remains of a 400-meter long dam and underground cisterns. Its decoration is also influenced by Roman and Sassanid arts. The complex was built by Caliph Yazid ibn 'Abd Al Malik (r. 720-724) and his son Al Walid (r. 743-744). The palace is very similar to other Umayyad palaces in its layout and the many buildings that surround it.

The qasr. This small palace of 68 sq m is built of limestone. Around a porticoed courtyard are groups of six bayt

(self-contained houses), each consisting of a large room framed by two smaller rooms. The walls were originally decorated with colored mosaics, still visible in places. Numerous niches carved in the rock, with plant decorations, have been discovered. They probably come from the audience room on the second floor, and are reminiscent of the decoration of the living room of the Umayyad palace in the citadel of Amman. The salon included a large room with a triple apse.

The mosque. To the north of the qasr

is a mosque that has been rebuilt and restored more than once since the mid-nineteenth century. Only the lower courses of the western and northern walls belong to the original mosque. At the northwestern end stands a minaret, the oldest preserved minaret of the Umayyad era. A shaped cornice supports Corinthian pilasters.

The Baths. About 400 meters north of the qasr is a structure discovered in 2000: the baths, which were part of a similar complex found at Qasr Amra and the hammam Al Sarakh. The mosaics are splendid, representing in particular a ferocious lion leaping on the back of a huge bull which tries to put it down, and a leopard devouring a gazelle. This type of decoration, inherited from the Roman period, can be found in the baths of Khirbat al-Mafjar in Jericho. The vitality of these animal scenes and the subtle gradations of color place these mosaic pavements in the rank of the most beautiful, and show great technical skill