The desert castles or qasrs are often called Umayyad desert castles, since the vast majority of these fortified palaces or castles were built by the Umayyad Dynasty in their province of Bilad ash-Sham, with very few Abbasid exceptions. The desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part of this group of buildings, with most Umayyad "desert castles" being scattered over the semi-arid regions of north-eastern Jordan, with several more in Syria, Israel and the West Bank (Palestine), and just one Abbasid exception in Iraq.
Qasr al-Kharana, one of the Umayyad desert castles located in present-day Jordan
Quseir Amra, Jordan
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, Syria (1950)
Khirbat al-Mafjar, "Hisham's Palace", Jericho: floor mosaic in bathhouse
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank and Israel to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is Jordan's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.
The 'Ain Ghazal Statues (c. 7250 BC) uncovered in Amman are some of the oldest human statues ever found.
The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BC) records the glory of Mesha, King of Moab, displayed at the Louvre Museum.
Petra, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, contains Al-Khazneh, believed to be the mausoleum of the Nabataean King Aretas IV, 1st century AD
The Oval Forum of Jerash (c. 1st century AD), then member of the ten-city Greco-Roman league, the Decapolis, seven of which are present in modern-day Jordan.