Al-Muwaqqar (Arabic: الموقر) is a district in the Amman Governorate of north-western Jordan.[1] 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.[2]
Al-Muwaqqar
الموقر | |
|---|---|
District | |
 Location of district in Amman | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 31°48′56″N 36°5′39″E / 31.81556°N 36.09417°E | |
| Country |  Jordan |
| Governorate | Amman Governorate |
| Time zone | UTC + 2 |
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
editThe village 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[2] a water level gauge for a palace cistern, 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.[3]
Two distinct qusur, Muwaqqar and Mushash
editDespite 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.[4] 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.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Maplandia world gazetteer
- ^ a b Al-Muwaqqar at AtlasTours.net
- ^ "Jordan's Desert Castles", Aramco World magazine, March 1963, pp. 10-13 (see p. 11).
- ^ a b Bartl, Karin (2016). McPhillips, Stephen; Wordsworth, Paul D. (eds.). Water management in desert regions: Early Islamic Qasr Mushash. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 50-68 [see p. 63]. ISBN 9780812292763. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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External links
edit- Information and image from Qasr Al Muwaqqar
- Photos of al-Muwaqqar at the American Center of Research
- Photos of Qasr al-Muwaqqar at the Manar al-Athar photo archive
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