The desert castles in Jordan

The desert castles

To the east of Amman, the steppes stretch out, followed by a desert of sand and stone. The eastern region of Jordan belongs to the Bedouins. A trip into this arid region attached to the Arabian Desert will predominantly be for the presence of the renowned "Desert Castles". The course to the "Desert Castles, 155 miles long from Amman, is one of the Jordanian classics. Erected by the Umayyad caliphs from the first half of the 8th century, these sumptuous fortified palaces with their hammams and refined decoration were designed as places for relaxation and pleasure. The Umayyad caliphs had revived the lifestyle of their nomadic ancestors with hunting, banquets and poetry contests. However, the role of these castles was equally strategic. When they organised shooting parties for the Bedouin chiefs in the desert, followed by prestigious receptions, the monarch secured the allegiance of the nomadic tribes and thus the security of the Empire. As for the caravanserais in those residences, they helped to protect the caravans that plied the vast Umayyad Empire that extended from Cordoba to Indus. At the time, dams retained water from the wadis, which was used to irrigate the gardens, which were miracles of the greenery in the midst of one of the most arid deserts on the planet.

Other reasons to go

1.   Landscapes

2.   Towns

3.   Arts and culture

4.   Monuments

5.   The desert castles