Located in the middle of a vast, treeless plain, this imposing thick-walled structure was the most likely inspiration for the ‘desert castle’ moniker and is arguably the most photogenic of all the desert castles. There is controversy about its function and purpose, but this important Umayyad structure remains an interesting sight for visitors, off the main Azraq-Amman road.
Despite its castle-like appearance, there is no evidence that the intimidating two-storey building, with what appear to be round, defensive towers and narrow arrow slits, was ever intended as a fort. In fact, the towers are completely solid, which means that they couldn’t be manned by armed soldiers and it would be impossible to fire bows from the bizarrely shaped ‘arrow slits', meaning that they most likely served as air and light ducts.
About 60 rooms surround the courtyard inside the castle, and most likely served as meeting spaces for visiting delegations. The long rooms either side of the arched entrance were used as stables , and in the centre of the courtyard was a basin for collecting rainwater. Remarkably, the interior is much smaller than you’d imagine as the walls are deceptively thick.
Climb the broad stairways and you’ll find rooms on the upper storeys with vaulted ceilings. Some carved plaster medallions , set around the top of the walls, are said to indicate Mesopotamian influence.
Also in one of the rooms on the second floor are a few lines of Arabic graffiti , which were crucial in helping to establish the age of the fortress. Above the door in simple black script is the inscription, meaning ‘Abd al-Malik the son of Ubayd wrote it on Monday three days from Muharram of the year 92’. Stairs in the southeast and southwest corners lead to the 2nd floor and the roof (closed to visitors).
