Al-Muwaqqar ( ar, الموقر) is a district in the
Amman Governorate of north-western
Jordan. The village contains the scant ruins of an
Umayyad palace, the Qasr al-Muwaqqar, one of the
desert castles. Little remains of the palace today except several
acanthus leaf capitals and gauge of a water
reservoir.
[Al-Muwaqqar]
at AtlasTours.net
The district is the headquarters of the
3rd Armored Division and a police training center.
Most of the families which are staying in the region are from
Bani Sakhr, like Al-Khraisha, Al-Arabid, Al-Jbour, Al-Qudahh.
Archaeology: Qasr al-Muwaqqar
The village of contains the ruins of an
Umayyad complex, the Qasr al-Muwaqqar, a ''qasr''-type fortified palace also known as a
desert castle. Almost nothing remains of the palace today except several
acanthus-leaf capitals and
[ a water level gauge for a palace ]cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
, inscribed with Kufic signs which indicate a maximum level of over thirty feet (c. 10 metres), very impressive for the arid climate of the area.Jordan's Desert Castles
Aramco World magazine, March 1963, pp. 10-13 (see p. 11)
Two distinct ''qusur'', Muwaqqar and Mushash
Despite some name confusion, which combined the two names into one, the following are two distinct Umayyad sites which contain ''qusur'' (plural of ''qasr''): al-Muwaqqar and Qasr al-Mushash.
They lay 19.4 km apart on the historical caravan route between Amman and
Azraq via
Qusayr 'Amra, on which all these localities acted as way stations.
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]
See also
* Desert castles
* Islamic art
* Islamic architecture
* Jordanian art
* List of castles in Jordan
References
External links
Information and image from Qasr Al MuwaqqarPhotos of al-Muwaqqar
at the American Center of Research
The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...
Photos of Qasr al-Muwaqqar
at the Manar al-Athar photo archive
Populated places in Amman Governorate
Umayyad palaces
Umayyad architecture in Jordan
Districts of Amman
{{Jordan-geo-stub