Qusayr 'Amra
Historic site in Jordan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Qusayr 'Amra or Quseir Amra, lit. "small qasr of 'Amra", sometimes also named Qasr Amra (قصر عمرة / ALA-LC: Qaṣr ‘Amrah), is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan. It was built some time between 723 and 743, by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future Umayyad caliph Walid II,[1] whose dominance of the region was rising at the time. It is considered one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture.
Qusayr 'Amra, Qasr Amra | |
---|---|
Native name Arabic: قصر عمرة | |
Location | Zarqa Governorate, Jordan |
Coordinates | 31.8017°N 36.5873°E / 31.8017; 36.5873 |
Elevation | 520m |
Built | 743 A.D. |
Official name | Quseir Amra |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, iii, iv |
Designated | 1985 (9th session) |
Reference no. | 327 |
Region | Arab States |
The building is actually the remnant of a larger complex that included an actual castle, meant as a royal retreat, without any military function, of which only the foundation remains. What stands today is a small country cabin. The foundation has a simple layout with a rectangular audience hall, hydraulic structures, and a bathhouse. It is most notable for the frescoes and mosaics that remain mainly on the ceilings inside, which depict, among others, a group of rulers, hunting scenes, dancing scenes containing nude women, working craftsmen, the recently discovered "cycle of Jonah", and, above one bath chamber, the first known representation of heaven on a hemispherical surface, where the mirror-image of the constellations is accompanied by the figures of the zodiac. This has led to the designation of Qusayr 'Amra as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[2][3][4][1][5][6] The bathhouse is also, along with examples in the other desert castles of Jordan, one of the oldest surviving remains of a hammam in the historic Muslim world.[7][8][9]
The conservation and maintaining of this structure is what is the main topic of discussion when Qusayr 'Amra is discussed today. As this structure is from the 700s maintaining it is very important to the future of studying Islamic art as a whole. Current expeditions for preservation include removing old maintenance attempts and implementing new ones that support the site better. This new actions for preservation began in 2010.[10]
That status, and its location along Jordan's major east–west highway, relatively close to Amman, have made it a frequent tourist destination.