Castles and caravanserais
The beautiful kingdom of Jordan combines both modern and ancient civilisations and offers visitors a variety of tourist attractions. Mahmoud Bakr visited some monuments of a bygone age
A trip to Jordan is always enjoyable: travellers can meander through the fertile countryside, relax on the Aqaba shore, admire the monuments or venture on a safari trip. Jordan has it all.
I was recently invited to attend an Arab environmental convention on desertification sponsored by Queen Rania, and for me this came as a splendid chance to return to one of my favourite countries. Although the gathering was focused on the programme of scientific papers and lectures, as much attention was paid to the short trips we made to Jordan's magnificent sites.
The first tour was on the second day of the convention when I and the other delegates from 12 Arab countries, guided by senior officers from the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism, headed past Ghur, an area rich in natural features, and on towards the desert.
All over the deserts of Jordan are scattered the ruins of castles from a bygone age, as well as the remains of fortresses, hunting lodges and caravanserais and the farms that supported them. The Desert Castles reflect the chess game played here over the centuries: they differ in date, ownership, function and architectural style, but most belonged either to the Umayyad princes of the first half of the eighth century or the Crusaders of the Middle Ages.
Many have crumbled so much that the relative wealth and function is initially obscured: some may have served as mansions or residences for the Umayyad Caliphs and members of their hunting parties, or as caravanserais and posts to serve traders on the caravan routes.
Our first visit was to the Qusair Amra, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a masterpiece among the Desert Castles. Most historians believe Qusair Amra was originally built in 715 AD during the reign of the Caliph Al-Walid I, who also built the Umayyad mosque in Damascus. The interiors are magnificent, with the walls and ceiling decorated with frescoes of hunting scenes and the floors of two rooms paved with mosaic.
Nuzd Abdah, director of the Sites Development Department at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said Qusair Amra was one of the most splendid examples of the expression of Umayyad art. The wall decorations date from the eighth century AD. Between 1971 and 1973 a team of Spanish experts from the National Museum in Madrid restored the castle, and it was listed by UNESCO in 1985.
The castle's water system is of great interest. In the open courtyard is a 40-metre-deep stone well, a water container with a capacity of 14 cubic metres and a wheel to lift the water and transport it to the bath through clay pipes and water channels. The great hall is another one of the attractions, consisting of three smaller halls separated by arches. The bath is accessible from the hall through a wooden door and includes three rooms; the frididarium, the tepidarium and the caldarium. It has a sky-shaped domed ceiling with four windows, and its walls are faced with marble. The ceiling built and painted to resemble a sky with fluffy clouds.
A few metres west of Qusair Amra are the remains of a square building which seems to have been residential, as well as a tower that could have been the minaret of a mosque. This housing area appears to have been used as dormitories for soldiers and others.
Our second trip was to Kharanah Castle, 65 kilometres east of Amman. This is a well-preserved Umayyad castle with towers and two floors, altogether containing 61 rooms. The Nabatean fort of Al- Hallabat, which lies 25 kilometres from the town of Al-Zarqa, was another site which we found well worth a visit. It contains many Roman traces since, along with several other forts, it was built to protect the eastern border in an early period of Jordanian history. We also saw Al-Mushatta Castle near Queen Alia international airport, a wide palace with a water wheel and arches.
In the eastern area lies the black basalt fort of Al- Azraq, which dates from the Roman era and since that time has been in continuous use. Its outer walls face a blue oasis which in ancient times was a main trade route station.
The castles of Kerak and Shobak are the most important of the many Crusader forts and outposts -- each one a day's march from the next -- built along the scenic King's Highway, the mountainous road which runs from Amman to Aqaba. Both Kerak and Shobak were captured by Salaheddin and were enlarged during the Mamluke era. Both have arches, underground tunnels and military towers. Shobak was known by the Crusaders as Mont Real, which means the royal mountain.
The road to Kerak runs through Wadi Munib, a steep canyon 1,000 metres deep and a foretaste of the drama to come. Kerak itself is a maze of stone- vaulted halls and underground passages. The castle stands as an impressive example of the Crusaders' power and architectural heritage.
Abda said a large development project was planned for all Desert Castles, with UNESCO sharing in the cost, the French drawing up plans of the visitor centre and the museum and the Jordanians taking overall responsibility for financing.
The crowning point of our trip was our last night, which we spent at Petra. History, monuments and scenery: Jordan certainly has it all.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 28 Nov. - 4 Dec. 2002 (Issue No. 614)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/614/tr1.htm