Mushatta, Jordan Desert Castles

Some 10 km southeast of Al-Qastal and within the precincts of Queen Alia International Airport, lies Qasr Al-Mushatta, the most famous of all the Umayyad palaces.

Externally, the palace is nearly 144 m², articulated by regular semi-round buttresses with a single monumental gateway in the middle of the south facade. Internally, the space is divided into what has been called "The Successive Symmetrical Subdivision into Three".

This sophisticated plan shows an axial, focused on the basilica reception-hall in the northern central tract. This hall, which ends in a triconch, was entered through a triple-arched entrance, the central arch being higher than the lateral ones, thus resembling a triumphal arch.

The monument reveals a mixture of Romano-Byzantine, Sassanian and Coptic influences evident in its construction technique (combination of stone and baked brick), roofing system, and decoration. The most remarkable feature of Mushatta, however, is its elaborately carved stone facade which now graces the Pergamum Museum in Berlin.