Jordan Tours Photo Gallery

Jordan Desert Castles - 

Under the Caliph Omar's rule, the region of Jordan, Palestine, and Greater Syria were conquered. The Umayyad dynasty came into existence under Muawiya, who subsequently moved the capital north to Damascus. This shifted the power of the Islamic Empire north from the Hijaz. They became a part of the Umayyad Dynasty, the first of the Islamic dynasties. The Umayyads successfully ruled a vast empire for a total of ninety years. The monuments in Jordan were the beginning of the development of the Islamic art and architecture. These desert castles represent the early Islamic art. There was an abundance of decoration, including mosaics, frescoes, stone and stucco carving. Illustrations depicting man, animals, and geometric patterns borrowed from both Persian and Graeco - Roman traditions. These desert complexes, often referred to as castles, served various purposes. It is believed that some may have been built as caravan stations, others to support agriculture, some as resort pavilions, some in order to forget the troubles of life, and some to house traders. These monuments stand as a reminder of the earliest days of the Islamic empire and of a short-lived dynasty whose base lay in the region. The most important of these palaces are Mushatta, Kharranah, Amra and others.