Desert castles

The majority of desert castles of Jordan are in the kingdom's Eastern Desert.

Understand
The desert castles are a series of buildings (not all castles) built by the Umayyads in the desert, east of Amman. They provide a fascinating glimpse of how the Umayyads controlled the unforgiving desert. In Arabic, the word for "castle" is قَصْر (qaṣr, ultimately from Latin castrum), and this word features in many of the castles' names. There are numerous texts online, many of them scientific papers, for more information.

Get in
It is hard to see much of them by public transport but a numer of them are close to major highways or larger roads. Some of the more known castles, like Qasr Amra, require a small entrance fee.

Get around
The main castles can be seen in a loop, with some near on the main road east of Amman, some near, and some on the southern road from Azraq to near Amman airport.

See
There are a number of better known, spectacular castles. Some lesser known castles include the following.

Eat and drink
Larger towns like Zarqa, Hallabat and Azraq will have restaurants but you might want to take your own food and have a picnic.

Sleep
Although many desert castles once served as a place to sleep in the Umayyad period, they don't have accommodation close by nowadays, unless the castle is in the city. Qasr Burqu has a modern RSCN lodge close by, though.