Qastal - Jordan / Vaults

Description

Qastal is one of the oldest of the Umayyad palaces, as well as one of the best preserved. The remains at Qastal include a wide variety of sites such as the central palace, baths, a reservoir, a mosque, small houses, a cemetery—the oldest Muslim graveyard in Jordan—and a dam. The central palace was decorated with stone carvings, and twelve semi-circular turrets buttressed and guarded the walls. The courtyard of the palace housed a central water tank. North of the central palace are the remains of the mosque. Interestingly, it is not oriented precisely eastwards facing Mecca. The palace of Qastal is 100 meters west of the Desert Highway near the town of Qastal, 25 kilometers south of Amman. Location: https://goo.gl/maps/3G9ujjS6KLiwPVNm7