Zarqa, Jordan
human settlement in Jordan
Qasr al-Hallabat is an archaeological complex on the edge of the desert in Zarqa Governorate, about 55 km north-east of Amman, that tells in one place the story of the eastern frontier of Syria from the Romans to the Umayyads. It began as a Roman fort of the 2nd or 3rd century guarding the Via Nova Traiana on the desert margin; the Ghassanids altered it in the 6th century and built a monastery beside it; and in the 8th century the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik demolished what stood there and rebuilt it as a grand desert palace with corner towers, decorated with mosaics, wall paintings and carved plaster. The palace is distinctive for the mix of pale limestone and black basalt in its walls, some of the basalt blocks carrying Greek inscriptions reused from older buildings. Beside it stand a small Umayyad mosque of about 10.7 by 11.8 m with three barrel vaults, five cisterns and a large reservoir, and the remains of walled fields once watered by the rains; about 2 km to the east is Hammam as-Sarah, the palace bathhouse, which keeps its domes and halls. A Spanish-Jordanian team restored the complex and re-erected parts of it in the first decade of this century, making it one of the easiest desert castles for a visitor to read.
Hallabat is the desert castle closest to Amman and Zarqa and is easily reached by car or by public transport to Hallabat; it is usually combined with the neighbouring Hammam as-Sarah and Qasr al-Azraq, or with Umm al-Jimal to the north. Allow an hour for the palace, mosque and bath, and come in the morning or late afternoon, since the site is exposed. Entry is free according to travel guides and the site is on the Jordan Pass list; the official Desert Castles hours are on the government ticketing portal.
Hours and prices change — check before you go. Source: en.wikipedia.org
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