Moving east, one comes upon the Umayyad desert castles (Qasrs), built in the 7th and 8th century AD – a good example of early Islamic art and architecture. The castles were built along the trade routes connecting Hijaz, Syria and Palestine. Most of these castles served as fortresses as well as hunting places and leisure resorts for the Umayyad caliphs where they could hunt and race their Arab horses.

Azraq Castle
Distance by Road: 100 km east of Amman.
Azraq castle is located in the heart of the Azraq Oasis. The castle has older military association including a Roman fortress built of black basalt slabs. It was later rebuilt by the Mamelukes in the 13th Century.

Today, Al Azraq Oasis is a nature reserve which may once have been the site of important agricultural production experiments. Azrak also served as a temporary headquarter for T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") during his northward march with the Arab army to Damascus.

The Azraq Oasis contains the only permanent source of fresh water in the surrounding 12 thousand square miles.

Amra Castle
Distance by Road: 75 km east of Amman.
Qusayr Amra is the most famous desert castle in Jordan. The castle is UNESCO World Heritage site. It was built by the Ummayyads during the early 8th century as a retreat for their pleasures and as residence for the caliph when visiting different Bedouin tries whose loyalty was important in the stability of the Ummayyad rule.

Amra castle is noted for its mixed style of Roman, Byzantine and eastern frescos, its roofed halls, siesta rooms and steam baths with colorful painted frescos. The most remarkable piece is inside the dome on top of the hot room where there is a painting that represents the firmament with the twelve signs of the zodiac on a spherical surface. Frescos and murals cover all the walls and ceilings inside the castle with diverse subjects such as hunting, erotic women dancers, musicians, acrobats, drinking parties, sports and the animal life of the desert.

Kharraneh Castle
Distance by Road: 16 km west of Amra Castle, 55km east of Amman.
The Kharraneh castle is a fortress like castle. It was built by the Ummayyads with heavy stone walls for defense purposes. Many historians believe that the castle served as short stay for pilgrims traveling to/from Moslem holy cities in Hijaz and diplomatic delegations traveling between the Umayyad capital at that time, Damascus and other parts of the Umayyad Empire. The fortress has two floors topped by an open roof top with narrow windows that are open from all directions. Some frescos can still be seen in the upper rooms.

The Crusaders Castles

Kerak Castle
Distance by Road: 150 km south of Amman along the King's Highway.
Approaching Kerak, visitors pass through Wadi El Mujeb, a steep canyon approx. 1000 meters deep. The town is famous for its crusader fortress - an impressive example of the Crusaders' architectural military genius. The fortress is built of dark maze of stone with underground galleries, high vaulted halls, endless secret passageways and thick defensive walls pierced by narrow arrow slits where crusader archers held out bravely but in vain for over 100 years.

 

 

Kerak Castle was built in 1142 by Payen Le Boutellier, the lord of Montreal. He made Kerak the new capital of the province because it was situated on the king's highway where it could control all traffic from north and south.

After the defeat of Reynald and King of Guy, Reynald was captured and beheaded by Saladin, marking the beginning of the decline in Crusader fortunes. The castle was later in time enlarged with the new west wing added by the Ayyaubids and Mamluks.

 

Shobak Castle
Distance by Road: 248 kilometers south of Amman, midway between Kerak and Petra.
Like Karak, Shobak has a long and distinguished history that reached its peak in Crusader times. It too has a great fortress, constructed in 1115 by Baldwin 1, as a link in the great chain of crusader strongholds across Jordan.

The Castle is perched on the side of a mountain and has a forbidding gate and three layer thick walls. Despite the precautions of its builders, the fortress fell to Saladin only 75 years after it was built. Inscriptions by his proud successors still appear on the castle wall.

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