Castles to visit Jordan

The present castle, made of large blocks of black basalt, was built by the Ayyubids in the 13th century. The site had previously housed Roman garrisons (between 286 and 305) and then Byzantine garrisons, as evidenced by inscriptions here and there. Built on a quadrangular plan, this fortress controlled the Wadi Sirham valley on the trade route between Arabia and Syria, where caravans loaded with goods flowed. The fortress originally had three floors but was largely destroyed by the 1927 earthquake. The fort served as the headquarters of Sherif Hussein of Mecca and Lawrence of Arabia's troops during the Great Revolt. It was from Azraq that the Sheriff undertook his final assault on the city of Damascus, which marked the defeat of the Turks and the end of the First World War in the Middle East.

The tower through which one enters the fortress has several inscriptions in Latin, Greek and Arabic. The room above the southern entrance was that of T.E. Lawrence. The west gate still has its heavy basalt leaves (over 3 tons each) which are still in use. This type of gate is a legacy from Roman times and was frequently used throughout the Byzantine period. In the centre of the fort, the 13th-century mosque, facing Mecca, was built by the Ayyubids, the dynasty founded by Saladin, on the ruins of a Byzantine church. Its fine columns are noteworthy.

If the 'castles of the desert' have their origin in the Roman-Byzantine architecture, fortified or rural, as it existed in Syria before Islam, Qasr Kharranah is singled out by its specificities inherited from Sassanid Iran. It is thought to be one of the earliest known Umayyad monuments, built between 661 and 684, although an inscription above a doorway gives the date 710. Its imposing silhouette stands out in the middle of the desolate plain that surrounds it, quite different from the small Qasr that were built around Azraq. It is thought to have been more of a meeting place for the Bedouins, with no military purpose, as shown by its archways, which were only used for ventilation and ornamentation.

It is square and measures 35 m on each side. Its plan is typical of the Sassanids: a courtyard, surrounded on two levels by rooms arranged in living units. While Syrian castles are often larger, there are a number of buildings in Iraq that are close in scale to the Qasr Kharranah. Once through the entrance gate, one discovers, on either side of the courtyard, stables designed to accommodate camels. A small basin that was used to collect rainwater is located in the middle of the courtyard. Note the beautiful vaulted rooms at the top of the entrance gate and on the second floor, decorated with stucco mouldings and the saw-tooth pattern of the arches, which are found on many utilitarian potteries, both European and Islamic. The 'fleurs de lys' of some of the roundels in the rooms seem more unusual.

The village of Qasr Al-Hallabat is located not far from the highway, at the gateway to the eastern desert. On your way there, you will pass the ruins of an ancient bathhouse, the Hammam as-Sarah, dating from the Umayyad period. The small limestone building has been well restored and the pipes that carried the water to the baths remain largely intact.

Qasr al-Hallabat is an interesting site from a historical point of view, as it provides a better understanding of the transition from Roman antiquity to the Islamic Middle Ages and of the customs of the people of that time. The site was originally occupied by a Roman fortress, built during the reign of Caracalla around 200 A.D. It was intended to protect the Via Nova Trajana, the new Roman road that crossed the province of Arabia from north to south, linking Bostra (in Syria) to Aqaba, which was conquered in 106 A.D. The fort was part of the Limes of Arabia, and was used as a base for the construction of the new road. This fort was part of the Limes Arabicus, the eastern border of the Roman province of Arabia. In the 4th century, probably during the reign of Diocletian, the garrison was enlarged and transformed into a fort with four towers. This was badly damaged by the earthquake of 551 and abandoned. During the Byzantine period, the Ghassanids took over the site and turned it into a monastery. Then the arrival of the Arabs and the foundation of the Umayyad dynasty gave it a new function: a palace. The Umayyads retained the original plan of the building, but added a rectangular mosque to the exterior. Inside, the palace rooms were retained but the monastic outbuildings were transformed into functional warehouses. The decorations evoking the political or religious identity of their Christian predecessors were removed.

The castle visible today is little more than a pile of stones. However, it is possible (with good eyes) to admire some mosaics and frescoes from the period, inside what remains of the old palace rooms. The large mosaic on the floor of room 11 may be reminiscent of the Byzantine tradition, but it is also reminiscent of the lion and gazelles mosaic at Khirbat al-Majfar. The complex iconography of the mosaic, in which a man appears to be guiding an ostrich, may have had a significance that no archaeologist has been able to determine. In the larger of the two courtyards, there is a well coping with geometrically carved arches. The mosque behind the palace was completely restored between 2002 and 2013. Its delicate entrance porch is particularly noteworthy.

It is difficult to reach this castle, the most isolated of the desert qasr. It is located on the border between the governorates of Amman and Ma'an, 85 kilometers south of Azraq. Built in 743 by Caliph Walid II for his sons, it is the southernmost Umayyad castle. Despite its impressive dimensions, the work is unfinished. As with the Qasr Mushatta, the assassination of Walid II aborted the completion of the construction work. Originally, the project included two monumental wings with semi-circular towers projected on the facades. Only the west wing seems to have been completed. The castle may have served as a hunting lodge for the sons of Walid II and certainly as a caravanserai for Bedouins transiting from Saudi Arabia to western Iraq or Syria. Like all desert castles, Qasr al-Tuba is located near a water source. A dry wadi lies nearby, and a dam and wells have been discovered at the site.

The western wing of 140 meters by 72 meters is divided into two squares connected by a narrow corridor, which could be closed in case of need. Access to each of the living areas was through a majestic door. One of these was found and is now on display at the Citadel Archaeological Museum in Amman. The building has a vaulted roof. The whole structure is covered with clay bricks, which provided good protection from the sun and heat, but which are not found on any other qasr.